On a breezy Wednesday afternoon, the T-Bones couldn’t match the Wichita Wingnuts’ hot hitting. Kansas City dropped its first game of the series, 10-3, at CommunityAmerica ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas, in front of a crowd of 7,040.
Left fielder Joe Jackson would start things off for the T-Bones with a solo home run to right field off right-handed pitcher, Tyler Kane, in the bottom of the second inning.
The Wingnuts’ designated hitter, Brent Clevlen, responded with an RBI single to centerfield to bring catcher Zac Fisher home, evening the score at 1-1.
Wichita’s bats remained hot in the fourth when right fielder Richard Prigatano brought in two runs to extend the Wingnuts’ lead to two. Second baseman Christian Stringer followed up with an RBI single to bring in an additional run, putting Wichita ahead 4-1 going into the bottom of the fourth.
Catcher Martin Medina added another run to stretch Wichita’s lead to four with an RBI single in the fifth bringing in T.J. Mittelstaedt.
After going scoreless for two innings, right fielder Chantz Mack got things rolling again for the T-Bones again with a solo home run to right field, cutting the Wingnuts’ lead to 5-2.
The Wingnuts weren’t backing down, though. Stringer brought in another run with a sacrifice fly to right field, extending their lead back to four. Clevlen followed with another RBI single to put the Wingnuts up 7-2 in the sixth.
Kansas City tried to chip away at the Wingnuts’ five-run lead with a Jackson putout, scoring Kevin Keyes, but they couldn’t cut the deficit any further.
Wichita’s left fielder Brennen Salgado added some cushion to the scoreboard in the ninth with a solo home run to right field. Fisher put the exclamation point on this victory, hitting a two-run home run to right field securing the Wingnuts’ 10-3 win over the T-Bones, the Wingnuts’ first win in the series.
“If we make those plays that we normally make, it would have been a different outcome,” manager Joe Calfapietra said. “We just need to continue to play, play hard the way we’ve been playing. It’s a new series. We just won one and we’re looking to win another one against a very good team.”
The T-Bones will begin a three-game series with the St. Paul Saints Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at CommunityAmerica ballpark, 1800 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas.
Tickets are available online, by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting in person the Providence Medical Center Box Office.
– Story from T-Bones