Goldeyes Rally Falls Short as T-Bones Prevail, 7-6
KANSAS CITY, KS – The Winnipeg Goldeyes lost 7-6 to the Kansas City T-Bones in a spring training game at T-Bones Stadium on Monday night.
Trailing 7-2 in the top of the eighth, the Goldeyes rallied for four runs. Kevin Lachance drew a leadoff walk and took second when Reggie Abercrombie singled through the left side. Two batters later, Kevin Garcia ripped a single through the right side that scored Lachance. After James Harris was struck out, Alex Perez walked on four pitches to load the bases. Willy Garcia then smacked a double to centre field that scored Abercrombie, Garcia, and Perez to pull the Goldeyes within one run. Dominic Ficociello was retired on a hard line drive to centre that ended the inning with the tying run on second.
Victor Capellan pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth to keep the score at 7-6. The Goldeyes put the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth before T-Bones’ left-hander Nick Lee struck out the side to earn the save.
Joel Bender took the loss in relief for the Goldeyes. Dustin Hurlbutt picked up the win in relief for Kansas City.
The T-Bones took a 1-0 lead two batters into the first. Mikey Reynolds walked leading off, stole second, and scored on a double down the left field line from Darnell Sweeney. Sweeney later scored from third on a Casey Gillaspie groundout to second.
T-Bones’ starter Thomas Collier held the Goldeyes off the board during his three innings of work. Collier allowed four hits, one walk, struck out one, and took a no-decision.
The Goldeyes loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth on singles from Harris and Perez and a full-count walk to Garcia. Ficociello brought home Harris on a groundball to first, and the Goldeyes tied the game when Josh Romanski hit a sacrifice fly to right.
Kansas City answered back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, solo home run from Carlos Franco. In the bottom of the sixth, the T-Bones scored four runs on one hit, cashing in on three walks, a hit by pitch, and an error.
Harrison Cooney started for the Goldeyes and took a no-decision, allowing two earned runs on two hits in three innings. Cooney walked three and struck out none.
Marcus Crescentini made his Goldeyes’ exhibition debut, pitching a perfect bottom of the seventh on just seven pitches.
The Goldeyes conclude their pre-season schedule Tuesday night against the T-Bones. Parker French is expected to start for Winnipeg. First pitch from T-Bones Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. All the action can be heard locally on 93.7 FM CJNU and worldwide at www.cjnu.ca
The Winnipeg Goldeyes open the 2019 season on May 16th against the Texas AirHogs on the road. The Goldeyes’ 2019 home opener is scheduled for Friday, May 24th versus the Kansas City T-Bones. 2019 season tickets, 10-game mini packs, and group tickets are on sale now. For more information, call the Goldeyes’ office at (204) 982-BASE, or visit the Goldeyes’ official website at www.goldeyes.com.
By Steve Schuster