Pitcher Dylan Baker had a three-hitter for the T-Bones, who won 7-2 against the Texas AirHogs on Friday night in Kansas City, Kansas.
The T-Bones launched two three-run home runs in the game in front of a record crowd of 7,018.
Baker pitched eight innings, allowing one run, three hits, and three walks. He struck out five. With 82 pitches after the seventh inning, he was pulled in the eighth.
Texas’ Chen Junpeng scored Li Ning on an RBI double off Baker in the first inning, and the T-Bones answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
Kansas City’s Chris Colabello hit a bloop single down the right field line off Texas starting pitcher Zhang Tao to score Casey Gillaspie.
Not long after, Casey Gillaspie hit a monster three-run home run to help the cause and make it a 4-1 ballgame. In the fifth inning Tyler Marincov hit the second three-run home run of the night, making it a 7-1 affair for the T-Bones.
After Luo Jinjun came out with a suspected injury, the AirHogs made a slew of changes. Texas wouldn’t be able to make the most of a fan interference double by Stewart Ijames in the fourth and a leadoff walk in the sixth.
In the ninth, Yang Jin scored Stewart Ijames to give the AirHogs one last run before Kansas City’s Hunter Smith finished the job.
The Texas AirHogs had a rough day in the field, especially at second base. Jinjun had two errors before he was pulled from the game, and Li Ning, who took over for Jinjun at second base, had an error to his name as well.
Zech Lemond (0-10) and Jose Mesa Jr. (1-2) will face off in game two of the three-game series with Texas at JustBats Field starting at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. The game will be on the T-Bones Broadcast Network, http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/, with Dan Vaughan on the call.
There will be post-game fireworks Saturday, with a special salute to the armed forces on Military Appreciation Night. There also will be a Boy Scout campout.
Tickets to all T-Bones home games are on sale online or by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale.
- Story from T-Bones