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Wichita Blasts Naturals, Win 18-8 Behind Record Hitting

(Photo Credit: Ed Bailey)
July 28, 2021

NW Arkansas 8 Wichita 18 SPRINGDALE, AR– A record-breaking night for the Surge offensively as they bullied the Naturals on their way to a dominant 18-8 victory tonight in Springdale. Wichita broke the team record for most runs in a game (18) and most hits in a game (23) en

NW Arkansas 8

Wichita 18

SPRINGDALE, AR– A record-breaking night for the Surge offensively as they bullied the Naturals on their way to a dominant 18-8 victory tonight in Springdale. Wichita broke the team record for most runs in a game (18) and most hits in a game (23) en route to a comfortable game one win.

Wichita jumped out in front in their first appearances at the plate with a two-out rally. Two straight singles from Spencer Steer and Andrew Bechtold put runners on base with only one out left in the inning. BJ Boyd hit the third straight single of the inning to left field, allowing Steer to score from second and plate the first run of the game.

The Naturals answered back with three runs in the bottom of the first to momentarily take the lead. Two of those runs came off a Dairon Blanco two-run home run. Fortunately for Wichita, it took just one swing of the bat to tie the game back up at three. After Leobaldo Cabrera singled to lead off the top of the second inning, Chris Williams touched them all with a deep blast to right center field to tie the game at three. Williams’ second home run of the year traveled 440 feet and was fired off at 105 miles per hour.

The Surge scored three in the top of the third to gain a 6-3 advantage. The go-ahead run came after a leadoff double from Andrew Bechtold. BJ Boyd then hit a soft ground ball to pitcher Angel Zerpa, who decided to try and throw out Bechtold running to third. Zerpa didn’t realize no one was on third base when he decided to throw in that direction and tossed the ball into left field, allowing Bechtold to score on the error. Chris Williams continued his hot night with a two-out, two-RBI double past a diving third baseman. Williams picked up his fourth RBI of the night in his second plate appearance and provided a three-run lead for the Surge.

After the Naturals cut the Surge lead down to 6-4 off a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI single, BJ Boyd picked up his second RBI single of the night driving in Steer and putting the three run lead back on the board in the fourth. The Surge plated four runs in the top of the fifth to increase their margin to six runs. Leobaldo Cabrera led off the inning with his second home run of the year over the left field wall. An RBI single from D.J. Burt, an RBI double from Spencer Steer, and a third RBI single from BJ Boyd placed Wichita ahead 11-5.

MJ Melendez cut the Surge lead down to 11-6 with a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth. Just like the entire game, Wichita answered a Natural run with one of their own. Trey Cabbage blasted his sixth long ball of the year on the first pitch of the top of the sixth to put up a dozen runs for Wichita.

The Surge scored three in the top of the seventh to break their record for most runs scored in a game. A Spencer Steer RBI triple scored D.J. Burt for run number 13 on the night. Steer later scored on a failed pick-off attempt by Yefri Del Rosario. BJ Boyd plated the record-breaking 15th run after beating out a ground ball to the short stop and driving in Bechtold. In the top of the eighth inning, Steer recorded his fifth hit of the night and plated RBIs three and four with a bases-loaded two-RBI double to put a 17 on the scoreboard for Wichita. Chris Williams added another run in the ninth off an infield single to not only drive in the 18th run of the game, but to complete the objective of scoring in every inning for the Wichita.

Chris Vallimont struggled a little bit in his 12th start of the season. Vallimont allowed four runs on five hits and struck out six in 4.0 innings of work. Cole Sands entered out of the bullpen tonight pitching 3.0 innings of relief. Sands allowed two runs on two hits and struck out four batters. Making his first appearance for the Surge, Chris Nunn pitched 1.2 innings of relief. Nunn allowed one run on three hits and struck out three.

NOTES: The Surge added former MLB pitcher Sean Gilmartin to the roster, activated left-handed pitcher Chris Nunn from development roster and placed pitcher Kody Funderburk on injured list. Wichita set a team-record for most runs in a game (18) and most hits in a game (23). Spencer Steer tied the franchise record for most hits in a game with 5 hits tonight (previous: Jose Miranda 5, 6/24 @ Midland). Chris Williams broke the record for most RBIs in a game with 5 tonight.

COMING UP: Wichita will play game two against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals tomorrow evening (7/28). First pitch is set for 7:05 pm from Springdale, Arkansas. Wichita will start RHP Austin Schulfer (2-7, 4.28 ERA) against Northwest Arkansas LHP Drew Parrish (2-2, 4.62 ERA). RADIO/TV: KGSO 1410 AM and 93.9 FM, MiLB.TV and Windsurge.com.

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