Wingnut bats come alive in 6-3 win

Trapped in another sluggish start, the Wichita Wingnuts needed a reminder of why they posted the best record in American Association history.

They needed a reminder of how their offense will go down as one of the best in league history, with a team batting average of .306 and a league-record 174 stolen bases.

For one inning, the Wingnuts experienced a revival. They strung hits together. They caused havoc on the basepaths. They delivered in the clutch.

The inning-long renaissance could not have come at a better time, as a six-run seventh inning rescued the Wingnuts and helped secure a 6-3 victory over Laredo on Saturday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Wichita claimed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series and will attempt to close it out in Game 4 on Sunday night.

“We sure did wait awhile, but we finally got it going,” Wichita manager Kevin Hooper said. “Better late than never, I guess.”

For 24 innings of playoff baseball, Wichita’s offense was suppressed.

The lethargic play at the most critical time of the season was beginning to worry Hooper, as Laredo’s Cesar Carrillo had successfully shut down the Wingnuts through six innings on Saturday.

Then the seventh inning came, and six runs on five hits followed.

“I don’t think there was ever a doubt whether or not we could do it,” Wichita third basemen Chris McClendon said. “It was just a matter of us doing what we needed to do.”

The bottom of the lineup began the rally, as Jake Luce and Jared McDonald both reached base to begin the seventh. That’s when the hits began to multiply for the Wingnuts.

The groundbreaking one came from McClendon, who delivered a shot to the gap in left field to score Luce and McDonald and give the Wingnuts a 2-1 lead.

The bases were soon loaded without an out, setting up Brent Clevlen to give Wichita complete control. And the league leader in batting average delivered, as Clevlen singled to drive in two more runs. For good measure, Carlo Tesla doubled to plate two more runs.

After a brief disappearance, it was a welcomed sight to the Wingnuts to see their explosive offense restored. Even if just for an inning.

“We’re very confident as a team and we don’t feel like it has to be any one guy to pick it up,” Luce said. “We got some big hits and finally got some momentum rolling and that’s all that it took.”

It saved Wichita from spoiling perhaps Jason Van Skike’s finest outing of the season.

Outside of giving up a solo home run to Travis Denker in the first inning, Van Skike was marvelous in his pitch placement and never allowed Laredo to rally after that shot.

Van Skike retired 13 straight batters at one point and gave Wichita’s flagging offense a chance to redeem itself late in the game. He finished allowing just two hits in seven innings.

The victory improved Van Skike’s record at Lawrence-Dumont this season to 9-0.

“It was so tough to see Van Skike doing what he was doing on the mound (being down 1-0),” Hooper said. “We had to find a way to scrap across two runs, so we could get him the win.”

It’s a series-shifting victory for the Wingnuts, who now have two chances to win a game and advance to the championship series.

For a team dominant at home this season, Wichita likes those odds.

“It takes the pressure off of us a little,” McClendon said. “But we still have to come out and get it done one more time.”

This story was originally published September 6, 2014 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Wingnut bats come alive in 6-3 win."