KANSAS CITY, Kan.—After a dramatic finish in game three where the T-Bones (58-42) clinched the Southern Division Championship, The Sioux City Explorers (57-43) came to JustBats Field at T-Bones Stadium ready to fight for the wild-card spot in the playoffs, and they opened the game immediately with a double by Kyle Wren off Jon Perrin, followed by a single by Drew Stankiewicz and another by Nate Samson, scoring Wren and starting off the game with an early 1-0 lead for the X’s.

In the second inning, the X’s kept the offense coming, with a Dylan Kelly hit that advanced him to first. Then a walk for Adam Sasser and a wild pitch from Perrin that scored Kelly made it a quick 2-0, Sioux City.

The X’s continued their drive in the third inning with back-to-back homeruns off Perrin by Jeremy Hazelbaker and Dexture McCall, extending the Sioux City lead to 4-0.

The T-Bones offense came back in the bottom of the third with a single by Dylan Tice, followed by another single by Danny Mars, but the X’s defense kept them from capitalizing.

In the top of the fourth, Perrin walked Stankiewicz; then Jose Sermo advanced to first on a hit-by-a-pitch and another walk for Jeremy Hazelbaker took Perrin out of the game for the T-Bones.  Robert Calvano came in for Perrin, and Dexture McCall got a single, Dylan Kelly walked, scoring Sermo. Sebastian Zawada followed with another single, scoring McCall, which ended with a commanding 7-0 lead for the X’s.

Casey Gillaspie started off the fourth with a double, and Omar Carrizales followed with a two-run homerun off Pete Tago, giving life to the T-Bones, 7-2.

In the top of the eighth, Andrew DiPiazza came in for Evan Korson after a walk for Hazelbaker, but DiPiazza left the game quickly with an apparent injury issue, so Ramsey Romano came on to the mound for the T-Bones. He walked Dexture McCall, and with a base hit for Sebastian Zawada, Sioux City extended the lead 8-2. Then a sac fly by Adam Sasser ended the scoring in the inning with a lead for Sioux City 9-2.

Despite a Nava single and a double for Correa that brought in Nava, making the score 9-3, the X’s maintained the lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ramsey Romano got on board with a single, then a two-run homerun by Austin Biggar—his first long ball as a professional—inched the T-Bones closer, 9-5, but that was all the offense the T-Bones could muster, as both teams will now head to the playoffs starting later this week.

The winning pitcher was Pete Tago (6-3), who pitched a complete game for the Explorers, and the losing pitcher was Jon Perrin (7-2) for the T-Bones. The next stop for the T-Bones is the playoff series that opens in Sioux City at Lewis and Clark Park on Wednesday, September 4^th at 7:12 p.m.  Catch all the action live on the T-Bones Broadcast Network.

Tickets to all T-Bones home playoff games are just $8.00 and are on sale now online or by calling (913) 328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke’s Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale now.

For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to www.tbonesbaseball.com. and the T-Bones Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

Boxscore

By GM Vaughan