Wichita, KS- The Wingnuts pounded 18 hits but had to hang on in the end, edging the St. Paul Saints 9-8 on Sunday at Lawrence Dumont Stadium.
For the third straight game, St. Paul took a quick 2-0 lead in the second, in part to a home run by Ole Sheldon. The Wingnuts exploded in the bottom of the inning, rapping six hits and scoring three runs. Dustan Mohr had a two-run single in the inning. Josh Horn put Wichita up 4-2 with an RBI in the third, Mike Thompson doubled home a run in the fourth and Patrick Brooks hit a solo home run in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-2.
St. Paul plated three in the sixth to cut the lead to one, but the Wingnuts scratched across a run in the bottom of the inning and plated two more in the seventh, thanks to Brooks second home run of the game. Nick Blasi, who went 5-5, scored the final run on a wild pitch after he tripled.
Things got hectic in the ninth as St. Paul cut the lead to 9-8 and had runners on second and third, but Amad Stephens got Jacob Butler to ground out to second to end the game. Butler went 3-5 for the Saints including a home run. Josh Horn and Brooks, who scored four runs, had three hits each for Wichita.
The Wingnuts are 5-1 versus St. Paul this season and now lead the Saints by five games in the Northern Division. The 'Nuts will host the Sioux Falls Canaries on Monday at 7:05 p.m. in the start of a three-game series. For tickets call the Wingnuts office at (316) 264-4625.
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