Game 1 featured what it takes to be a successful club. Wichita starter Justin Young pitched well and was backed by near flawless defense. Some timely hitting late in the game completed a 4-3 victory in eight innings.
The solid fundamentals disappeared after the Wingnuts built a 7-3 lead after three innings in the nightcap. Wild pitches, inability to find the strike zone and bad defense cost Wichita its lead. But the Wingnuts' offense produced 15 hits in a 9-8 victory, also in eight innings, before a crowd of 6,779 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
Young wasn't overwhelming in the first game, but he did just enough.
He loaded the bases in the second inning, but got out of the jam. Two innings later, the Explorers' Alex Llanos scored off Chad Gabriel's single, and with runners on second and third and one out, Young induced a groundout to second base and a fly ball to left field to limit the damage.
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