Surge Drop Series Opener to Cardinals

Springfield 8

Wichita 6

*SPRINGFIELD, MO – *In a back and forth battle, the Wind Surge could not hold off the Springfield Cardinals after taking the lead three times tonight. The Cardinals continued to answer the runs scored by Wichita and took game one 8-6.

The Wind Surge spotted starter Chris Vallimont a three-run lead before he ever stepped on the mound tonight. Austin Martin led off the first inning with his 13th double of the year to left field. BJ Boyd followed his AA-Central Player of the Week award with a two-run bomb in his first at-bat. Boyd’s 15th home run of the year traveled 397 feet at 100 miles per hour and was his 7th home run in 7 games.

This one was an absolute moon shot! 🚀@BossManBoyd pic.twitter.com/qmol2tkq12

— Wichita Wind Surge (@WindSurgeICT) August 18, 2021

D.J. Burt added another run off an RBI single to center field to score Jermaine Palacios and give Wichita a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals struck back to eventually take the lead in the second inning. Springfield hit two two-run home runs off the bats of Ivan Herrera in the first and Chandler Redmond in the second. Spencer Steer took the lead back for the Surge with another two-run home run in the fourth. Steer saw a 1-1 pitch float down the middle and he turned on it to left field to put Wichita on top, 5-4.

Free souvenir from Steer!@spenc__er pic.twitter.com/oxlfpoMVMn

— Wichita Wind Surge (@WindSurgeICT) August 18, 2021

The Cardinals tied the game at 5 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning.

In the top of the fifth, the Wind Surge had runners on first and second after back-to-back walks from Aaron Whitefield and Caleb Hamilton. Whitefield and Hamilton pulled a double steal to put two in scoring position for BJ Boyd. Boyd used his speed this time as he hit a bouncing ground ball to the shortstop. Boyd was able to beat out the throw to score Whitefield and place Wichita ahead 6-5. Unfortunately, the lead did not last long as Springfield overtook the lead with a two-RBI single to left field from Chandler Redmond. Redmond went 3-4 on the night against Wichita.

The Cardinals added the final tally in the bottom of the eighth off a solo home run from Ivan Herrera. The Wind Surge had a chance to tie or take the lead in the top of the ninth with two on and one out but were unable to pull through to extend the game as Springfield took game one, 8-6.

Chris Vallimont lasted 4.0 innings in his 16th start of the year. Vallimont allowed five runs on five hits and struck out one. Mitchell Osnowitz was the only Surge pitcher with a scoreless outing. Osnowitz pitched 1.1 innings and allowed no hits while striking out two.

NOTES: BJ Boyd extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The Surge left a season high 15 men on base and were four for nineteen with runners in scoring position. The Surge matched a season high with six stolen bases.

COMING UP: Wichita will play game two of the series against the Springfield Cardinals tomorrow evening (8/18). First pitch is set for 6:35 pm from Springfield, Mo. Wichita will start RHP Tyler Beck (2-3, 2.76 ERA) against Springfield’s RHP Gus Varland (0-2, 4.91 ERA). Beck will make his first start in a Wind Surge uniform tomorrow. RADIO/TV: KGSO 1410 AM and 93.9 FM, MiLB.TV and Windsurge.com.