Saints Pound Wingnuts

WICHITA, KS- The Wichita Wingnuts lost 13-5 to the St. Paul Saints at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Thursday night.

St. Paul erased a two-run Wingnuts lead with three unearned runs in the top of the fourth.  An error by Michael Thompson and a double by Saints' catcher Gerard Haran put runners on second and third and no out.  Wingnuts' starter Sean Teague almost worked out of the jam, striking out the next two hitters, but Brandon Carter slapped an RBI single to left to cut the lead to 2-1.  After Josh Alley walked, Josh Petersen singled to left-center to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs.

The Saints extended their lead in the fifth on a two-run home run to left by Haran, and then broke the game open with three runs in the top of the sixth.  Ole Sheldon led off with a double and advanced to third on a single by Jason Cooper.  Brent Krause hit an RBI single down the right field line to make it 6-2.  Flint Wipke and Brandon Carter added RBI singles to build an 8-2 lead.

The Wingnuts got to Saints' starter Ryan Morse early, stringing together four hits in the first before Morse ever recorded an out.  Josh Horn singled and scored on Ryan Patterson's double off the fence in left-center.  Patterson moved to third on Jackson Melian's single to left and came in when Mario Delgado lined a single to left-center.

Morse settled down afterward, retiring the final three batters in the first and then allowing just one hit from the second through the sixth.

Leading 8-2 in the seventh, the Saints added three more runs on a bases clearing double from Haran who finished the night with five RBIs.

The Wingnuts scored three times in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run home run down the left field line by Jake Bradshaw, the first of his professional career.  Patterson added an RBI single in the inning to cut the lead to 11-5.

The Saints scored twice more in the eighth on an opposite field solo home run by Brandon Carter and a two-out double down the right field line by Jason Cooper.

Teague allowed five runs, two earned, in 4.1 IP while taking the loss.  Teague struck out a career-high eight hitters.  Four Wingnuts pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts.  Morse earned the win, allowing five runs in eight innings of work.  Delgado has hit safely in seven games in a row.

The Wingnuts and Saints continue their series on Friday at 7:05 p.m.  Nick Singleton goes to the mound against right-hander Jason Godin.  For tickets, call the Wingnuts' office at (316) 264-NUTS.

-Wingnuts-