Luis Hernandez comes up with game-winning hit for Wingnuts

Luis Hernandez may lobby Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper every night to take the first eight innings off.

The team would miss his steady defense, but Hernandez’s consistent late-game presence has been even more valuable.

Hernandez delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the 10 inning on Tuesday, giving the Wingnuts a 4-3 win over division-leading Joplin at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It was Hernandez’s third game-ending hit this season, and it helped the Wingnuts (28-22) pull to within a game of Joplin in the American Association South.

Hernandez’s bouncing single over the head of third baseman Omar Luna was the Wingnuts’ first hit since the fourth inning. Hernandez hopped off the bench, hitting in favor of rookie Leo Vargas, and accomplished something his teammates couldn’t.

Wichita pitching helped keep it tied after the second inning by holding Joplin without a hit after Yasser Gomez’s leadoff single in the third inning.

“I was in a good situation,” Hernandez said. “I got ready to pinch hit in that situation and I was happy to get the hit when we needed it.”

Between the Wingnuts hit in the fourth inning and Hernandez’s single, the teams combined for two errors – both by Joplin – eight walks and three hit batters. Starlin Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to start the 10th, and he advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw by Sam Agnew-Weiland.

After John Nester’s infield single with a runner on second base in the first inning, the Wingnuts were hitless in their next seven at-bats with runners in scoring position. That includes Matt Padgett’s strikeout after Rodriguez got to third in the 10th.

After an intentional walk to Nester, a Joplin mound visit didn’t lead to a pitching change, giving the Wingnuts a matchup advantage the left-handed Hernandez against Agnew-Weiland, a righty.

Hernandez pounced on Agnew-Weiland’s first pitch, a hit that didn’t look similar but largely echoed his last game-winner, a double over the head of a drawn-in left fielder earlier this month. Hernandez finds gaps that aren’t easily exploited.

A former major-league infielder, Hernandez got a day off on Tuesday after seeing his batting average drop to around .230. He’s hitting 1.000 with the game on the line, though.

“Veteran guy,” Hooper said. “Been scuffling a little bit lately. I gave him a mental day today, just to kind of sit back and watch. Big hit. Big time. A big-time hit in that game, and we needed it right there.”

The Wingnuts scored three in the first on five hits and, in line with a recent pattern, didn’t do much after that. They had three straight 1-2-3 innings before building some threats via walks, hit batters and errors.

Wichita left the bases loaded in the seventh, two runners were stranded in the eighth, and did nothing after Jayce Ray was hit to start the bottom of the ninth. Three relievers kept Joplin at bay, but Hooper didn’t want to use three relievers, and he especially didn’t want to use all of them for more than an inning apiece.

The Wingnuts are within striking distance of the division lead without a significant winning streak to speak of. Hooper wants the players to be cognizant of the team’s standing while forgetting about their failure to build momentum as the season reached the halfway point on Tuesday.

“We just waited too long (for a clutch hit),” Hooper said. “We had a chance to save some pitching, too, and I always talk about that stuff. We’ve just got to find a way. That’s a big win. Maybe that can get us going or something. I just don’t feel the sense of urgency, and we’ve got to have that.

“I’m not sure if they pay attention to what’s going on around the league and where we’re at. We need to know where we’re at and we need to have a sense of urgency and make a run.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Luis Hernandez comes up with game-winning hit for Wingnuts."