Flying Chanclas Walk it Off in the 10th 

SAN ANTONIO – After exciting games on Tuesday and Wednesday, San Antonio and Arkansas continued their trend and played a thriller on Thursday night. Both teams were held scoreless through seven innings. After the Flying Chanclas took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, Arkansas recovered to tie it in the ninth. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Jorge Ona scored the winning run on a walk-off wild pitch. Flying Chanclas win 2-1.

Fans at Nelson Wolff Stadium were treated to a pitcher’s duel Thursday night between the Flying Chanclas de San Antonio and the Diamantes de Arkansas. Matt Waldron and Connor Jones were the starting pitchers this evening.

Through five innings of play, the two clubs combined for just three hits with Arkansas recording two and the Chanclas recording one. The Flying Chanclas recorded their first hit in the bottom of the third inning. Esteury Ruiz hit a bunt single and improved his on-base streak to 30 games. He is the first San Antonio player since David Freitas in 2019 to record a 30-game on-base streak.

Matt Waldron lasted six innings for the Flying Chanclas. This was his longest outing of the season. He failed to allow a run while giving up two hits, walking one batter, and striking out six. He was replaced by Alek Jacob ahead of the seventh inning.

Connor Jones lasted seven innings for the Diamantes. He failed to allow a run as he walked three batters, gave up two hits, and struck out six batters. He was replaced by Collin Kober ahead of the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Flying Chanclas offense put the one and only run on the board. With one out in the inning, Connor Kaiser hit a double to immediately put himself in scoring position. After Chandler Seagle struck out for number two, Esteury Ruiz stepped up to the plate. He hit a line drive into left field to score Kaiser and give the Chanclas a 1-0 lead.

Angel Felipe came on for the save attempt in the top of the ninth. He allowed a lead-off single to Joe Rizzo. Tanner Kirwer pinch-ran for Rizzo and advanced to second base after a ground out. Zach DeLoach drew a walk and Patrick Frick came on to run for him. Jake Scheiner popped out into the infield for out number two. It would result in a blown save for Felipe after Jack Larsen hit an RBI single. Felipe struck out Cade Marlowe to end the inning. The game was tied heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Felipe began the top of the 10th inning but allowed the first runner to reach base on a fielding error from Connor Hollis. Tom Cosgrove replaced Felipe following that play. With two runners on base and no outs, the southpaw struck out Connor Hoover and Riley Unroe. Tanner Kirwer singled to load the bases. With the bases loaded and two outs, Cosgrove struck out Kaden Polcovich to end the inning. Polcovich was ejected after the play.

In the bottom of the 10th, Ben Onyshko was the Arkansas pitcher and Jorge Ona was placed at second base. He advanced to third base on a pickoff error from Onyshko. After Ornelas struck out swinging, Domingo Leyba came on to pinch-hit. The first to him ended up at the backstop and Ona scored the winning run.