After dropping the first two games of their three-game set against the Wichita Wingnuts, the Winnipeg Goldeyes were looking to get off to a quick start and, thanks to seven runs in the first two innings, that is exactly what they did. Three Goldeyes players had 3-hits each in the game, and Mikey O’Brien won his fifth game of the season to lead the 9-5 victory.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes jumped out in front in the top of the first against Wichita starter Jesse Pratt. Andrew Sohn started the game by reaching on an error. That put him at second on a wild throw. Sohn stole second and scored on a single by Josh Romanski to make it 1-0. Reggie Abercrombie hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning and he moved to third when Shawn Pleffner grounded a ball just inside the bag and down the line for a double. David Bergin worked the count full, fouling off two pitches to stay alive before lining a single into left that scored both runners to make it 3-0. Wes Darvill singled to put two on, and Bergin scored on a two-out hit by Mason Katz.

In the second, the Goldeyes extended their lead to seven. Sohn was hit by a pitch to start the inning and David Rohm walked to put two on. Romanski followed with a base hit to drive in his second run of the game to make it 5-0. Reggie Abercrombie followed with a single that scored Rohm and that would be it for Pratt.

Garrett Gould came on and would eventually retire the side, but not before giving up a single to Pleffner that scored Romanksi. That made it 7-0. Gould was able to keep the inning from getting any worse, retiring the next three batters.

Mikey O’Brien started for Winnipeg and he was very sharp early on. The Goldeyes starter allowed three hits through the first three-innings, but made big pitches to keep the Wingnuts off the board.

Finally, in the fourth, the Wichita Wingnuts were able to get some runs across the plate thanks to the long ball. Matt Chavez led off the inning with a single and Martin Medina followed by popping a ball up that should have invoked the infield fly rule, however, the umpire did not call that and Jordan Ebert let the ball drop in and turned the double-play. That proved to be critical, as Brennen Salgado walked before Richard Prigatano clubbed his fourth home run over the left-center field wall. Next up was Leo Vargas, who drilled his third homer of the season over the left field wall to make it 7-3.

The Goldeyes responded with a run in the top of the fifth. Darvill, Katz, and Ebert began the inning with three straight hits to load the bases. Jared Wilson retired Sohn, but Rohm singled to score Darvill to make it 8-3. The inning could have been so much worse for Wichita, but Wilson struck out Romanski before getting Abercrombie to fly out to end the inning.

The Wingnuts responded in the bottom of the fifth. Christian Stringer doubled to start the inning and moved to third on a ground out by T.J. Mittelstaedt. Chavez singled to score Stringer to cut the deficit back to four. Two walks would load the bases and give Wichita a chance to tie, but Prigatano fouled a ball off that looked like it was going into the stands, but Pleffner made a great catch, reaching into the stands, to retire the final batter of the frame.

In the top of the sixth, Winnipeg got right back on the board. Pleffner doubled to start the inning before Bergin walked. A base hit by Darvill loaded the bases and Katz brought Pleffner home with a sacrifice fly. That made it 9-4.

Wichita cut the Goldeyes lead back to four in the seventh. Chavez led off the inning by drilling his 11th home run of the season over the center field wall to make it 9-5. That was his third hit of the game, raising his average to .371.

That would be as close as Wichita would get, however. Mikey O’Brien (5-2) earned the victory. Josh Romanski, Shawn Pleffner, and Wes Darvill each had 3-hits for the Goldeyes. Romanski, David Bergin, and Mason Katz drove in 2-runs apiece and Andrew Sohn and Pleffner each scored 2-runs. The Wingnuts were led by Matt Chavez, who was 3-5 with a run and 2-RBI.

The Wingnuts have tomorrow off before heading to Sioux Falls to take on the Canaries starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. The Goldeyes head to Gary Southshore to take on the RailCats.

Featured Image by Ed Bailey

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier