Category: T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones (15-13) were dominated early on Sunday afternoon by the strong offense of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (14-14) that put four runs on the board in the first inning.

Kansas City slowly cut the large lead throughout the game, but it wasn’t enough as they lost 8-6 at Newman Outdoor Field.

A freak play ended the top of the 1st for the T-Bones after their runners were caught in a double play after a controversial call that could have been the difference maker early on for Kansas City.

With runners at first and second, Zach Walters hit a ball to right center that RedHawk right fielder made a sliding attempt to catch on his knees. The ball was not caught, but the runners had to hold to make sure the ball was not caught, and there was a slow ruling by the base umpires on if it was caught or not.

The first inning proved to be the difference maker in this rubber match.

James Buckelew walked the first three batters he faced. Devan Ahart would score on a flyout from De La Cruz as would Gonzalez on a double from Leobaldo Pina.

Another single from Medina and Colwell scored Pina to put the score at 3-0. To end the inning, an error by Adrien Nieto led to another run scored by Medina.

Adrien Nieto responded for the T-Bones in the 2nd inning with a solo home run to put Kansas City on the board and down 4-1.

Steve Zimmerman singled to start the RedHawks second inning. Ahart hit a ball back to the mound that T-Bones pitcher Buckelew turned to throw out Zimmerman at second but threw the ball to center field.
An RBI single from Gonzalez then scored Zimmerman. Another RBI single from De La Cruz brought home Ahart and the Fargos made the score 6-1.

Keith Curcio and Dylan Tice singled in the top of the 3rd, followed by a sacrifice fly from Cunningham to left field that scored Curcio. A double play then ended the inning, but the T-Bones were able to add another run on the board to make it 6-2.

James Buckelew’s outing was short on Sunday after pitching two innings that included seven hits, eight runs and seven errors. Pasquale Mazzoccoli came in to relieve Buckelew but gave up two runs in the bottom of the third to give Fargo an 8-2 lead over the T-Bones.

Kansas City slowly continued to cut away at the RedHawks’ lead in the fifth inning after Nick Torres singled to drive in Curcio—that put the score at 8-3. Hunter Adkins came in to the game for Mazzoccoli in the sixth after he pitched three innings for the T-Bones.

The top of the eighth inning showed signs of a late comeback for Kansas City.

Todd Cunningham led off the inning with a double, followed by a single from Zach Walters that scored Cunningham. Anthony Pacillo was brought in by the RedHawks for Will Soloman.

Soloman pitched 7 ⅓ innings for Fargo after giving up 10 hits. Dexter Kjerstad was then hit by a pitch that brought Nieto to the plate. Nieto then singled, which led to a pitching change for the RedHawks.

After the change, Walters scored on a wild pitch and Kjerstad scored on an RBI groundout from Tucker Pennell that rounded out the eighth inning attempted comeback.

The T-Bones put runners on base in the top of the ninth but were unable to produce a comeback.

Kansas City looks to bounce back on Monday in Winnipeg against the Goldeyes at Shaw Park. The first pitch is 7 p.m., and the game will be aired live at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

Individual tickets, season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium or at www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

– Story from T-Bones

by Brian Turrel

NBA stars and KU greats faced the searing afternoon heat with good humor and high spirits in the Frank Mason III charity softball game played on Saturday, June 16, at T-Bones Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas.

Mason, the consensus national college basketball player of the year at Kansas and now a member of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, held the game to raise money for the National Youth Foundation and Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Jayhawk spirit was on display for much of the game, with Rock Chalk chants from the crowd and the Kansas fight song over the loudspeakers.

Fans were able to get up close with the players during games between innings, and players spent much of the game signing autographs along the outfield walls.

The T-Bones must love the scorching Kansas heat, because they bottled it up and took it with them to Fargo, North Dakota, where they came out on fire beating the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 6-4 Friday night at Newman Outdoor Field.

A hot first inning helped the T-Bones leave the RedHawks in the dust. Dylan Tice got things started out the gate with a single to left field off RedHawks starter Benji Waite.

Nick Torres joined the fun too and got on base with a hit by pitch. Zach Walters got the T-Bones on the board with an RBI single sending Tice home. Cal Towey batted next with a single to left field sending Torres home for the second run of the night.

Adrian Nieto’s RBI brought Walters home, but an error at third base allowed Towey to fly around third base and race home too giving the T-Bones a 4-0 lead. Brennan Metzger came out swinging for Fargo in the bottom of the first, hitting a homerun to cut the T-Bone lead 4-1 off Lucas Irvine.

In the top of the second, Keith Curcio singled to center field and was advanced by the next batter, Dylan Tice. Curcio then came home on an RBI single by Todd Cunningham, adding to Kansas City’s lead and making the score 5-1.

The T-Bones would go on to score another run in the fourth inning. Kansas City’s Adrian Nieto dropped a single out into right center field and hustled to second base after a wild throw. The next batter up, Dexter Kjerstad singled to left center and advanced Nieto home putting the T-Bones on top 6-1.

The RedHawks made things interesting in the bottom of the fourth with three quick runs. First-basemen Nick Torres tossed the ball to Lucas Irvine covering first base on a ground ball to the right side of the infield, but the ball slipped out of Irvine’s glove allowing Keury De La Cruz to reach first base on an error by Irvine.

Leobaldo Pina singled and was followed by Tommy Mendonca’s RBI single sending Cruz home, cutting the T-Bone lead 6-2. Tim Colwell hit a single that sent Pina home and Yhoxian Medina hit a sacrifice fly to center field sending Mendonca home and cutting the T-Bone lead 6-4.

The two clubs then locked into a pitchers dual with Reese Gregory tossing 5.2 scoreless innings for Fargo-Moorhead and Irvine able to get the T-Bones into the seventh with a two run lead. Irvine (2-0) was the winning pitcher for Kansas City, throwing seven innings, giving up eight hits and four runs (three earned) in a quality start.

The T-Bones then turned to lefties Francisco Gracesqui and Carlos Diaz. Gracesqui came in to pitch a scoreless eighth followed by Diaz who worked around a one out hit and a two out walk to pick up his second save.

Losing pitcher for Fargo was RHP Benji Waite (1-2), who went three innings, giving up 10 hits and six runs. Dylan Tice had a three-hit night for Kansas City and Dexter Kjerstad had a pair of hits as well to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Kansas City is now (15-11) on the year while Fargo-Moorhead drops to (12-14).

The two teams meet again Saturday night for the second game in a three-game series, where Kansas City will be looking to continue its winning streak. The first pitch is 6:05 p.m. and is aired on http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

The Frank Mason III charity fundraiser is scheduled today for T-Bones Stadium, for more details, see http://fm3charitysoftballgame.com/.

For T-Bones ticket information, go to the T-Bones Stadium box office between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, or visit www.tbonesbaseball.com.
– Story from T-Bones