Jordan Cooper gets a win in his debut with Wingnuts

As the Wingnuts approach one turn through their starting pitching rotation, its only newcomer is settling the pace.

Right-hander Jordan Cooper, who pitched at Wichita State, completed seven scoreless innings in the Wingnuts’ 6-1 win over Salina on Sunday afternoon at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

The Wingnuts returned 80 percent of a rotation that helped them reach the American Association championship series in 2016. Cooper, who pitched against the Wingnuts last season with Kansas City, brings a pedigree few in the league can match.

“There’s a lot of good guys here,” Cooper said. “All the starters, we get along really well and can share past experiences and learn from each other. We have two guys who have spent a lot of time, one in the big leagues and one at the higher levels. You can learn a lot just from watching them.”

Charlie Leesman is the Wingnuts pitcher who has spent time in the major leagues, and Cooper was often just a phone call away. He made 20 Triple-A appearances, including 16 starts, in the Cleveland Indians organization, where he pitched from 2010-16.

Cooper, a ninth-round pick by the Indians in 2010 after three seasons at WSU, was at his best from the beginning of Sunday’s start. He struck out the first three batters and ended with five strikeouts and two hits allowed in seven innings as the Wingnuts took three of four games in the season-opening series.

“He threw the ball well,” Wingnuts manager Pete Rose Jr. said. “He didn’t get a lot of reps in spring training, but he has a proven track record. He’s a pro – he comes in and does his work, works hard and fits in with us. He threw his tail off today and we got him some runs.”

Salina didn’t make contact – except for one foul ball – in the first inning, but the rest of Cooper’s outing was just as smooth if not more so. He retired 15 of the final 16 batters he faced, including 13 in a row before he worked around a one-out double in the seventh.

The strikeouts, Cooper said, were a product of a strike-throwing approach that also led to 12 straight outs, during one stretch, on balls in play.

“The strikeouts just come,” said Cooper, who threw 81 pitches. “You try to make them just hit it, keep your pitch count down and save the bullpen if you can.”

Cooper didn’t get run support until the fourth inning, when catcher Zac Fisher had a two-run single. Wichita scored an unearned run in the sixth, took advantage of another error in the seventh and plated two more in the eighth with help from an error and a wild pitch.

The Wingnuts had seven hits, plenty for Sunday’s win but not, according to Rose, indicative of their long-term potential.

“We’re kind of pressing maybe a little too much at the plate, guys trying to do a little too much,” Rose said. “But that’s early. These guys are going to hit. We’re going to work hard and put some better at-bats together, but a lot of guys are trying to do a little too much and it kind of shows a little bit.

“Other guys are doing a good job, but that will all come.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Jordan Cooper gets a win in his debut with Wingnuts."