Surge Rally to Beat Cardinals

Springfield 4

Wichita 7

WICHITA, KS– The Wichita Wind Surge bats came alive tonight as the Surge defeated the Springfield Cardinals by a final score of 7-4. Ernie De La Trinidad and Yeltsin Encarnacion each picked up three RBIs on the night, leading the Surge enroute to a victory in game five of the series.

After a slow start to the game and entering the home half of the fifth inning with a two run deficit, the Surge came through with two runs to tie the game. BJ Boyd led off with a line drive single to left field. Andrew Bechtold moved Boyd to third with a double to center field and putting two Wichita runners in scoring position. Ernie De La Trinidad came through once again with a line drive to right field, plating his 22nd and 23rd RBIs of the year and locking the game at 2.

The Wind Surge had a big three-run seventh inning that put them ahead for good. With no outs and runners on first and third, Yeltsin Encarnacion stepped up to the plate and hit a ball to the deepest part of the field that barely stayed in the park. Encarnacion’s first extra-base hit of the year scored BJ Boyd and Aaron Whitefield and put Wichita ahead by 2. Ernie De La Trinidad continued his hot hitting tonight with another RBI single to right field, scoring Encarnacion and pushing the Surge advantage to 3.

Wichita tacked on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth off the bats of Aaron Whitefield and Yeltsin Encarnacion. Whitefield hit a sharp ball to the Springfield third baseman who struggled to grip the ball, ultimately throwing the ball way outside first base and allowing Whitefield to advance to third and drive in Andrew Bechtold. Encarnacion then picked up his third RBI of the night by scoring Whitefield on a sacrifice fly to right field.

Springfield scored twice in their last plate opportunities to make the game interesting, but the five-run lead was too much to overcome as the Surge picked up their 23rd win of the season.

It was a complete team effort from the bullpen on the mound today. Jason Garcia started with the ball tonight eating up most of the innings for Wichita. Garcia allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four in 3.1 innings of work. Calvin Faucher, Zach Neff, and Jovani Moran finished the last 4.2 innings in relief. The three combined for two runs on six hits and struck out 10 Cardinal batters.

NOTES: Ernie De La Trinidad extended his hitting streak to seven games. Jovani Moran streak of not allowing a run in his last 13 2/3 innings ends.

COMING UP: Wichita will host the final game of the series against the Springfield Cardinals, Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in Wichita tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 pm from Riverfront Stadium. Wichita will start RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-0, 3.72 ERA) against Springfield’s LHP Domingo Robles (1-1, 2.83 ERA). RADIO/TV: KGSO 1410 AM and 93.9 FM, MiLB.TV and Windsurge.com