It was Salute to Sandlot Night at T-Bones Stadium Friday, with a special appearance by Chauncey Leopardi, who played Squints in the movie.
And if “The Beast” would have been on the other side of the fence, he would have had a grand feast as the T-Bones and Goldeyes hit seven baseballs out of the park.
The two teams combined for a total of 36 hits and 24 runs. Unfortunately, more of those runs were for Winnipeg as they defeated the T-Bones 13-11. The Goldeyes crushed five home runs and Kansas City chalked up two – both from Noah Perio Jr.
It didn’t begin well for Kansas City. In the first inning, Grant Heyman and Reggie Abercrombie had back-to-back singles. Josh Mazzola then gave the Goldeyes a big lead early, hitting a three-run home run over the left field fence – his 18th homer of the season.
The Goldeyes weren’t done yet though. In the second, Josh Romanski singled, then Heyman hit a long ball into the bullpen, making the score 5-0.
And it only got worse in the third inning as Blake Adams hit a solo home run to dead center, putting Winnipeg up 6-0.
Kansas City began to come back in the bottom of the fourth when Perio Jr. hit a three-run double down the right field line that scored Ryan Brett, Todd Cunningham and Colin Walsh – and cut the Goldeyes lead in half with the score 6-3. Perio Jr. then scored on a right field single by Adrian Nieto to make it 6-4 Goldeyes.
In the fifth, the T-Bones not only evened up the game but took the lead with a six-run inning. Keith Curcio and Brett singled, then Mason Davis walked to load the bases for Cunningham.
With one down, Cunningham hit into a fielder’s choice to score Curcio and make it 6-5 Winnipeg. Walsh followed with an RBI single to the shortstop that scored Brett to tie it up 6-6.
Perio Jr. then stepped in and crushed the ball deep to right field for a three-run home run that made it 9-6 Kansas City. Nieto singled to center and advanced to third on a double by newcomer Danny Hayes. Alay Lago then stepped in with a single to left to score Nieto and pad Kansas City’s lead to 10-6.
Winnipeg put one run on the board in the sixth as pinch runner Josh McAdams scored on an RBI single by Abercrombie. 10-7
The bottom of the seventh saw Perio Jr. hit his second home run of the game – a solo shot that put Kansas City up 11-7.
The eighth inning, however, was a turning point in the game as the Goldeyes scored five runs to re-gain the lead.
Romanski reached on a fielder’s choice, Heyman doubled, then Abercrombie singled to center, which scored both runners on base. An error by Curcio on a hit by Mazzola allowed Abercrombie to score. Tucker Nathans then hit a two-run home run that put Winnipeg ahead 12-11.
Winnipeg added on an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Topeka native Tyler Baker hit a solo home run over the right field wall to make it 13-11 Goldeyes.
Facts from the night:
• Perio Jr. ended the night with seven runs driven in and two home runs.
• At least one run was scored in every inning, but neither team scored in the same inning.
• Every game in the league Friday evening had seven or more runs scored by one the teams playing.
• Every player on each team had a hit except for Kansas City’s Cunningham and Winnipeg’s Andrew Sohn.
• While Winnipeg out-hit Kansas City 20-16, the Goldeyes stranded seven runners while the T-Bones only left three on base.
With the 13-11 win, Winnipeg is now 37-54 on the season and Kansas City dips to 56-33.
Kansas City will take on Winnipeg Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at T-Bones Stadium in the rubber match of the three-game series. It will be Military Aprpeciation Night, with an appearance by a renowned anthem artist.
KC will then continue its nine-game homestand with three games against Sioux City and three games versus Wichita. Saturday will feature post-game fireworks and Sunday is Bark at the Park.
Season, group tickets, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the box office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print 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