Whitefield Leads Surge to Series Finale Victory
NW Arkansas 3 Wichita 5 WICHITA, KS– The Wind Surge closed out the six game set against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals with a 5-3 win. Timely hitting and a scoreless performance by the bullpen aided Wichita back into sole possession of first place in the division. The key moment of
NW Arkansas 3
Wichita 5
WICHITA, KS– The Wind Surge closed out the six game set against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals with a 5-3 win. Timely hitting and a scoreless performance by the bullpen aided Wichita back into sole possession of first place in the division.
The key moment of the game came during Bryan Sammons’ first trip on the mound. The lefty loaded the bases before recording an out but managed to get out of it only allowing one run. Sammons stuck out back-to-back batters after the run scored and forced Bhret Bewley into a groundout to short to get out of the inning and keep the game from getting out-of-hand early on.
After getting the day off yesterday, Aaron Whitefield returned to the lineup today and made an impact in his first at-bat. With Morales on first and facing a 2-0 deficit, Whitefield belted his fifth home run of the year over the left field wall to tie the game back up at 2.
A-A-Ron with A-A-Bomb! 💣 pic.twitter.com/GTNK8TPjZu
— Wichita Wind Surge (@WindSurgeICT) July 11, 2021
Freddy Fermin picked up his second RBI of the night on a solo home run in the top of the third to put the Naturals ahead by one run. In the bottom of the sixth, Andrew Bechtold, as he has done all season long, knotted the game at 3 with a solo home run that bounced on the concourse in right field. Bechtold’s 10th long ball of the year was fired off at 107 miles per hour and traveled 420 feet.
Down by a run and need to tie the game? Call @Bechtold5 for all your home run needs! pic.twitter.com/IYiotoE5bo
— Wichita Wind Surge (@WindSurgeICT) July 11, 2021
The Surge took added two runs in the next inning to take the lead for the first time in the game. After a leadoff walk by D.J. Burt and a double down the third base line by Chris Williams, Leobaldo Cabrera came through in the clutch to drive home Burt on a single up the middle and advancing Williams to third. BJ Boyd then brought Williams home with a sacrifice fly to center field to cement a 5-3 Wind Surge victory.
Bryan Sammons finished his day after five innings of work. Sammons allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out seven. The bullpen combo of Aaron Rozek and Ryan Mason were stellar for the remaining four innings. Rozek picked up his first win in his first appearance for the Wind Surge after three scoreless innings of relief allowing just two hits and striking out two. Ryan Mason shut the door on the Naturals with two strikeouts in the final inning to pick up his third save of the year.
NOTES: Wichita moves back into sole possession of first place.
COMING UP: Wichita continues their homestand with another six game series against the Tulsa Drillers, double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The series starts on Tuesday night (7/13) from Riverfront Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm. The Wind Surge and Drillers have played 12 times already this season with both series being played in Tulsa. The Drillers hold the upper hand against the Surge so far, winning 7 of the 12 games played.