PENSACOLA, FL- The Wichita Wingnuts lost 11-6 to the Pensacola Pelicans at Pelican Park on Friday night.
Gabe Medina locked into a pitchers duel with right-hander Jared Gothreaux for the first five and a half innings before a lead off home run from Adolfo Gonzalez in the bottom of the sixth broke a scoreless tie.
Medina went 6.2 strong innings, striking out seven and allowing three earned runs on nine base hits. Medina allowed a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the seventh on back-to-back singles from Francisco Leandro and Adolfo Gonzalez.
The Pelicans broke the game open with an eight-run eighth inning against relievers Jacob Wiley and J.R. Boling. Kyle Brown, Francisco Leandro, and Javier Brito all had extra-base hits that drove in two.
Wichita rallied against Gothreaux in the top of the ninth, breaking up his bid for a complete game shutout. Steve Pearson singled to right with the bases loaded and two outs to put Wichita on the board. Joseph Spiers singled to right against reliever Jason Franzblau to make it 11-2. Jorge Cortes lined a grand slam over the right field wall to bring the Wingnuts within five, but Franzblau retired Ryan Patterson on a popout to first to end the game.
Gothreaux went 8.2 IP, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in the win. Medina took the loss for the Wingnuts.
Game three of the four-game set is Saturday night at 6:45 p.m. Sean Teague takes on right-hander David Nathonson. All the action can be heard live on Oldies 93.5 KWME and worldwide at www.kleyam.com The Wingnuts next play at home on Saturday, August 14th when they host the Sioux Falls Pheasants. For tickets, call the Wingnuts' office at (316) 264-NUTS.
-Wingnuts-
