ST. PAUL, MN- The Wichita Wingnuts lost 5-4 to the St. Paul Saints at Midway Stadium on Saturday night.
Wichita led 4-2 heading into the sixth, but the Saints rallied from behind to take their second straight over the Wingnuts. The Wingnuts left 12 men on base over the first seven innings, before going down in order in both the eighth and ninth.
After falling behind 2-0, the Wingnuts rallied in the top of the third to take the lead. Nick Blasi hit an infield single, Josh Horn was hit by a pitch, and Greg Porter walked to load the bases with no one out. Dustan Mohr knocked in the first run with an RBI groundout to second base, scoring Blasi and cutting the lead to 2-1. Kelly Hunt singled home Horn on a line drive to left field. Joe Muich followed with another RBI single to left to put the Wingnuts in front.
Wichita extended its lead in the fifth. Kelly Hunt doubled down the left field line to start the inning and advanced to third on a deep flyout to left by Joe Muich. Steve Pearson came up and singled to right field to drive in Hunt.
The Saints tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on first and third and two outs, Chris Herbert singled off the glove of Josh Horn to score a run and trim the lead to 4-3. Steve Butler drew a walk, which was followed by an infield single off the bat of Andrew Schmiesing.
The Saints took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Eure off of Ronnie Morales.
Brad Davis went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while striking out five and walking three in a no-decision. Ronnie Morales was charged with the loss, allowing an unearned run. Doug Hurn pitched the final 1.2 IP for Wichita, not allowing a run.
Reed Dickert earned the win in relief, pitching 1.2 IP of scoreless ball. Mike Bille worked a perfect eighth, while Kerry Ligtenberg retired the side in order to earn the save.
The Wingnuts end their series at St. Paul tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Gabe Medina returns to the mound for Wichita after missing his last start. The Saints are expected to throw right-hander Reed Dickert. The game can be heard locally on 1410AM KGSO and worldwide at www.kgso.com The Wingnuts return home on Friday, June 26th when they host the Saints at 7:05 p.m. For tickets, call the Wingnuts office at (316) 264-4625.
-Wingnuts-
