Wingnuts Force Game 4
WICHITA, KS- The Wichita Wingnuts staved off elimination on Saturday night, winning 5-3 over the Grand Prairie AirHogs in Game Three of the Opening Round at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
The Wingnuts now trail Grand Prairie 2-1 in the best-of-five series, and have forced a Game Four which is scheduled for Sunday night at 7:05 p.m.
Ryan Hinson delivered seven strong innings to earn the win, while Matt Nevarez and Josh Dew combined for two perfect innings of relief to close out Wichita's first win of the series.
Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Mike Conroy hit a grounball to first base that deflected off of John Alonso's glove. David Espinosa grabbed the loose ball and flipped it back to Alonso, but Conroy beat the throw and reached on what was scored an error. Jimmy Mojica then ripped a line drive to left-center. Conroy hustled from first to third, narrowly beating Danny Figueroa's throw. Conroy's baserunning allowed Mojica to take second. Josh Horn broke the tie with a groundout to second that scored Conroy. Two batters later, and with Mojica on third, Carlos Rivera made it 4-2 Wichita with a sacrifice fly down the left field line.
The AirHogs trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out double down the left field line from Espinosa, but Hinson retired Greg Porter on a groundout to first to strand the tying run on second base.
Nevarez worked a perfect top of the eighth on just 10 pitches, giving the Wingnuts a chance to build an insurance run. In the bottom half, Rivera led off with a line drive single to left. Jorge Delgado, back in the lineup after missing Game Two with an injury, lined a double down the right field line on an 0-2 pitch to give the Wingnuts second and third and no outs. Porter robbed Mitch Einertson for the first out of the inning, snaring a sharp groundball towards third base with the infield drawn in. After Josh Workman was intentionally walked, Edwin Bellorin drove in Rivera with a groundout to third base.
Dew took over in the top of the ninth, and set the side down in order to convert his first postseason save. Dew got Chris McMurray on a groundout to second, struck out Figueroa on three pitches, and fielded a comebacker from Stephen Douglas to seal the win.
The AirHogs took an early 1-0 lead on Cesar Nicolas' two-out, RBI single up the middle in the top of the first.
The Wingnuts answered in the bottom half to take the lead, and never trailed again. Mojica led off with a double to right-center. AirHogs' starter Josh Rainwater retired the next two hitters, but Rivera slugged a two-run home run to right field to put Wichita in front.
Porter tied the game with an RBI single through the right side in the top of the fourth.
Hinson allowed three earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out five.
Rainwater took the loss, allowing four runs, two earned, in seven innings. Rainwater walked two and struck out one.
Rivera now has eight RBI in the last two games of the series.
The game started one hour and 27 minutes late due to inclement weather. There was also a 50-minute rain dely during the bottom of the eighth.
2011 Opening Round Schedule (Grand Prairie Leads Series 2-1)
Game 4: Sunday, September 4th - Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, 7:05 p.m.
Game 5*: Monday, September 5th - Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, 7:05 p.m.
*If Necessary
Game Four of the series is Sunday at 7:05 p.m. at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts send Nick Singleton to the mound to try and even the series and force a decisive fifth game. The AirHogs go with right-hander John Brownell. For tickets, call the Wingnuts' office at (316) 264-NUTS or visit the Wingnuts' official website at www.wichitawingnuts.com
-Wingnuts-
