EL PASO, TX- The Wichita Wingnuts defeated the El Paso Diablos 16-5 on Wednesday night at Cohen Stadium.
The 16 runs tied a franchise-best, while the Wingnuts set new single-game records with 23 base hits, 11 doubles, and 13 extra-bae hits. Every starter in the Wingnuts lineup had at least one extra-base hit and at least one run scored. Greg Porter went 4-6, while Kelly Hunt drove in four with two doubles and a triple.
The Wingnuts hit in the clutch in the top of the first, plating three runs. Diablos' starter Mark Michael retired the first two hitters to face him, but allowed a single to Dustan Mohr with two outs. Kelly Hunt, Joe Muich, and Greg Porter all followed with long RBI doubles to move Wichita in front 3-0.
The barrage continued in the second inning. With one out, Brenan Herrera hit his second home run of the season on a high fly ball that just cleared the fence in left field. Two batters later, Josh Horn doubled off the wall in right field. After Horn advanced to third on a wild pitch, Dustan Mohr doubled off the very top of the left-center field wall to bring in Horn and make it 5-0 Wingnuts.
Joe Muich walked to leadoff the top of the third and advanced to third on Porter's second double of the game. Steve Pearson lined into a double play, started by relief pitcher Garvis Romero. Michael Thompson then doubled down the left field line to cash in Muich and extend Wichita's lead to 6-0.
Wichita blew the doors off completely in the top of the fifth, driving in eight runs and sending 11 hitters to the plate. The inning began with singles from Joe Muich and Greg Porter. After both runners advanced on a groundball by Steve Pearson, Michael Thompson doubled off the top of the fence in left-center field to drive in two and give Wichita an 8-0 lead. Brenan Herrera singled down the left field line to score Thompson and make it 9-0. Nick blasi doubled to left-center field and Josh Horn followed with a walk to load the bases. Dustan Mohr walked with the bases loaded to force home a run and the Wingnuts lead 10-0. Kelly Hunt came up next and tripled to center field, clearing the bases and making it 13-0. Joe Muich followed with an RBI single to cap off the eight-run frame.
The Wingnuts went on to score single runs in the sixth and ninth innings. El Paso scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and eighth innings, and a single run in the ninth.
Mohr, Hunt, Porter, Muich, and Thompson all had three hits or more, while eight Wingnuts had multi-hit games.
Brad Davis earned the win, pitching eight innings and allowing four runs on 10 hits. The lefty walked none and struck out five to improve to 2-1 on the season. Doug Hurn worked the ninth inning allowing a run before closing out the win.
The Wingnuts have Thursday off before returning home to host the Lincoln Saltdogs on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. The Wingnuts send Gabe Medina to the mound, who struck out nine his last time out. Reknowned entertainer "Rally" will be on hand at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts also host their annual "Girl Scout Night" promotion. Fans can also catch autographs of their favorite Wingnuts players following the game, courtesy of the Wichita Eagle and BOB FM. For tickets and more information, call the Wingnuts' office at (316) 264-4625.
-Wingnuts-
