No one would doubt that Wichita Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper is happy to see his team score 41 runs over the last five games. After struggling early on to put runs on the scoreboard, the Wingnuts skipper tinkered with his lineup and made a couple of roster moves to strengthen his batting order. The results have been quite positive – to a point.

While Hooper has to be happy with the results, the President of Wingnuts University preaches consistency above all things, and this is where the team has been lacking a bit lately. Wichita has been held to just one run in two of the five games during this stretch, while in the other three they scored in double-digits. Thursday night saw them plate 10 in a 10-4 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs.

Charlie Lowell started for the Wichita Wingnuts and was trying to rebound from his previous start against Lincoln. Five days ago the left-hander gave up 7 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks in 4.1 innings on the road, and was looking to even his record after getting no-decisions in his first two starts of the season.

The Wingnuts lineup made sure that Lowell had the necessary run support to earn the win, scoring eight runs in the second inning against Luis Chirinos, and never looking back from there. TJ Mittelstaedt got the rally going by drawing a walk to begin the bottom of the second. John Nester followed with a base hit, and Dustin Geiger walked to load the bases with no one out. An infield single by Luis Hernandez moved everyone up 90-feet, and staked Lowell to the 1-0 lead. Jayce Ray followed with a double that scored Geiger and Nester and five batters into the second inning it was 3-0 Wichita, and they still had two runners in scoring position with no one out.

The double by Ray was just one of the three hits he had on the evening. The Wichita Wingnuts center fielder finished 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, and played stellar defense as well.

Alberto Gonzalez was retired on a shallow fly ball for the first out of the inning, but David Espinosa walked to reload the bases. Matt Padgett was the next batter and he, too, drew a walk, the fourth of the inning by Chirinos. That drove home Hernandez to make it 4-0. A wild pitch scored Ray prior to Joash Brodin grounding out. With runners on second and third and two away, Mittelstaedt came to bat as the tenth man to appear at the plate in the inning. He fouled off the first three pitches, then took a ball before blasting his third home run of the year. His three-run home run made it 8-0, plenty enough for Lowell and his bullpen mates to get the victory on this night.

The left-hander had retired six of the seven batters to appear in the first two innings, keeping the Saltdogs scoreless. In the third, Lincoln mounted a little rally. With one out Trevor Martin singled and two batters later Matt Forgatch doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs. Jon Gaston was the next batter and he lined a double into the gap, bringing both runners home to make it a six-run deficit.

That would be all the runs that Lowell would allow and, coincidentally, the eight runs in the second would be the only runs that Chirinos allowed. The two pitchers shutdown their opponents over the next four innings to leave it an 8-2 ballgame when they turned it over to their bullpens.

Each team’s relievers would allow two runs over the final three innings. The Lincoln Saltdogs got a run in the top of the eighth inning against Al Yevoli. Gaston and Curt Smith drew walks, and with two outs Brian Joynt drove Gaston home. In the ninth, Lincoln got another run, this time against Daniel Bennett. With one out Eddie Young doubled and scored on a Gaston single. Gaston had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 with a run and 3 RBI. He is now hitting .342 and his 19 RBI put him third in the league in that category.

The Wichita Wingnuts plated a run in the seventh and the eighth innings. In the seventh Daniel Child took over for Chirinos and was greeted by a single from Padgett and a double from Brodin to begin the inning. Mittelstaedt walked to load the bases, and Nester hit into a double-play that scored Padgett. In the eighth Ray singled with one out and scored when Espinosa doubled two batters later.

The final score was 10-4. The Wingnuts had 11 hits on the night, but it was the walk that really did in the Lincoln Saltdogs in this game. Mittelstaedt was 1-1 with 2 runs and 3 RBI, and he walked 3 times. Lowell evened his record at 1-1, while Chirinos dropped to 2-2.

Boxscore Provided by the American Association

By Robert Pannier