Category: T-Bones

The T-Bones will hold an open tryout at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 26, at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Kansas City, Kan.

Three contestants will advance to the first round of the softball Home Run Challenge post-game Aug. 3.

Contestants should bring their own bat, pitcher and $10, which will include a general admission ticket to the game and a $5 donation to Harvesters.

The number of contestants will be capped at 100 persons.

The Home Run Challenge will start after the conclusion of the 5:05 p.m. Aug. 3 game at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Jose Canseco, Oakland A’s slugger, will make an appearance to participate in the Home Run Challenge Aug. 3. The event is a benefit for Harvesters.

Canseco, along with professional softball home-run hitter Jeremy Isenhower, will participate in the second and final round of the softball Home Run Challenge.

One of the contestants from the first round will advance to the finals to square off against Canseco and Isenhower.

David Espinosa drew a bases loaded walk that gave the T-Bones a 7-6 win over Grand Prairie in 10 innings Tuesday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.

In the 10th, with runners at the corners, the AirHogs intentionally walked T.J. Mittelstaedt to get to Espinosa, who drew a four-pitch walk that brought home Vladimir Frias for the win.

The T-Bones, who had trailed since the top of the fourth inning, were down 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Robby Kuzdale slid into third with an RBI triple that cut the deficit to two. Mittelstaedt then crushed a two-run home run, tying the game at 6-6.

Kuzdale gave the T-Bones an early lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded, he singled up the middle, extending his hitting streak to 12 games and bringing in one run. Mittelstaedt then drew a bases loaded walk for a quick 2-0 lead.

The AirHogs answered in the top of the third with two runs off two hits and two T-Bones errors. Jimmy Mojica and Alex Nunez both ripped back-to-back singles.

Frias reached base five times with three singles and two walks. Kuzdale, who was a home run short of the cycle, went three-for-five with two RBIs. Kris Regas got his sixth win on the year with a scoreless 2 1/3 innings and five strikeouts.

The T-Bones (31-34) will try to take the series against the AirHogs (27-35) Wednesday night at 7:05. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=178020
– Story from T-Bones

With temperatures in the mid-90s, it may have been the hottest night of the year but that didn’t stop Craig Swisher from taking his son and daughter to watch the Kansas City T-Bones at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., on Monday night.

Little did Swisher know he would be welcomed with open arms by the T-Bones staff, as he was the 3 millionth fan to see a T-Bones game at CommunityAmerica Ballpark — a feat that took only 12 years to accomplish.

“I was stunned; I knew it was significant but I didn’t realize how significant it was at the time,” said Swisher, of Gladstone, Mo., who said he attends two to three games each year.

Even with a major-league franchise like the Kansas City Royals across the state line, the T-Bones continue to post astonishing attendance numbers. The club is on pace in 2014 to draw more than 260,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season.

“Congratulations to the T-Bones on this remarkable milestone,” said Mayor Mark Holland. “The short timeframe that it took to reach this attendance number is a testimony to the quality product and fan experience the T-Bones constantly deliver. It’s a fun, family friendly event that everyone can enjoy.”

Going into Monday night, the T-Bones had an American Association best 173,401 fans in 2014, with the next closest being Winnipeg with 146,488. For Kansas City that averages to 5,419 fans each game, which is second-best in the league. Winnipeg has averaged 5,425 in 2014.

Swisher will be rewarded for achieving Kansas City’s monumental milestone with a prize pack that includes four T-Bones season tickets for life; an autographed, game-used base from CommunityAmerica Ballpark; a baseball autographed by T-Bones coach and Royals Hall of Fame player Frank White; $300 toward a savings account from CommunityAmerica Credit Union; a $100 gift card from Cabela’s; a gift certificate from Danny’s Bar & Grill; a phone from Verizon; a night’s stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kansas City, Kan.; among other prizes.

“It’s incredible,” Swisher said, “and I’m so appreciative.”
– Story from T-Bones