Wingnuts inch closer to division crown with 10-9 victory over Amarillo

The Wingnuts did little to solve their issue hitting with runners in scoring position on Wednesday afternoon, but at least they came away with a 10-9 victory over Amarillo at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

That improved the mood of manager Kevin Hooper slightly, as Wichita had lost 5 of 6 entering Wednesday, but he was still disgruntled with the lack of timely hitting that has continued into the last week of the regular season.

Wichita (56-39) extended its lead over Laredo in the South Division standings to three games with five to play.

“We’ve got to get better,” Hooper said. “We’re fighting to get into the playoffs and we’re not there yet. We’ve got to finish this thing off and get in, but we’ve got to tighten some things up this last week.”

The Wingnuts were able to salvage a victory out of a performance that saw them fall behind 7-0, leave the bases loaded twice, strand 11 runners through six innings, and commit three errors.

It wasn’t exactly inspiring, but it didn’t need to be. At least not now.

“Not every game is going to be pretty,” designated hitter Andy LaRoche said. “Every win’s a great win.”

The frustration began in the second inning, when the Wingnuts loaded the bases with one out and proceeded to strike out and fly out to end the inning. It happened again in the fourth, as Wichita loaded the bases with no outs but managed one run.

“It’s frustrating when they’re giving you runs out there and you’re not taking advantage of it,” LaRoche said. “It happens, but it’s not for a lack of effort.”

But Wichita slowly chipped away at the lead, scoring four in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two more in the fifth to escape the 7-0 hole.

The Wingnuts took the lead for good when Nick Van Stratten singled to lead off the seventh inning and Brent Clevlen delivered him home with a double to the gap in left-center field.

“I got ahead in the count and was sitting on a fastball and he gave me one over the middle of the plate,” Clevlen said. “We were kind of in one of those funks, I guess, so we needed to start getting the job done in those situations.”

LaRoche followed later in the inning with a two-run home run that he pulled over the left-field wall for a 10-7 lead. It appeared to be insurance at the time, but proved to be the game-winning hit when closer Paul Smyth allowed a two-run home run of his own in the ninth inning to close the gap.

Clevlen and Van Stratten combined for seven hits and four runs, while LaRoche and Taylor Oldham drove in three apiece.

But with five games remaining, Hooper is still in search for better production when Wichita has runners on base.

“I haven’t seen anything quite like what we’ve done this year,” Hooper said. “It’s come to the point where somebody needs to step up and take the opportunity and run with it. Then after that, I think it becomes contagious.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Wingnuts inch closer to division crown with 10-9 victory over Amarillo."