Week 17: July 21st – July 27th
With Ramon Guerrero back from the IL Luis Miguel Duran headed for waivers to make room for Guerrero to return to the rotation. The bats this week suffered a power outage, managing just four homers in the seven games.
Game 100 @ Rockville Pikemen
7/21 @ Rockville L 3-7
In the final game of the series Rockville made short work of securing the sweep of Wichita. Three runs by the Pikeman in the first innings and three more in the third was enough to finish Aviators off. Guillaume Martin went 2-4, the only Aviator with more than one hit, scoring once and also driving a run in. Julio Velasco lasted just two innings before getting the hook, he had given up eight hits, including three homers, and six runs.
Games 101, 102 & 103 vs Calgary Pioneers
7/22 vs Calgary W 7-4 (34896)
7/23 vs Calgary L 1-5 (34,890)
7/24 vs Calgary L 1-8 (31,825)
Having lost all six meetings in Calgary it was nice to get one over them in Wichita. Two runs in the third innings and three more in the fourth gave Aviators a 5-1 lead after four and although Pioneers tried to rally with two runs in the sixth they never really got close. Luis Maldonado went 3-4 scoring once on a solo homer and driving in another run as well. The #9 hitter Juan Hernandez also went 2-4 and used a triple to help his haul of two RBI and a run scored. Taito Kimmonen continues to impress in his first ever BBA stint, he pitched 5.2 innings allowing seven hits and three unearned runs to lift his record to 2-0. Unfortunately, the rest of the series was a complete washout. Game two saw Aviators actually take a 1-0 lead in the third innings but once Calgary had made it 2-1 in the fifth the game was up. Duane Whitley Jr was the only Aviator to get two hits while Elmer Lomond drove in the only Wichita run. Ramon Guerrero collected his eighth loss on his return from the IL but was probably rueing the lack of run support as he only allowed four hits and two runs in his five innings pitched. The final game gave the Pioneers the series win, a fifth innings Calgary home run opened the scoring and a 3-run homer in the next innings helped Pioneers to a 5-0 lead. The bottom of the sixth saw Aviators’ only run when Elmer Lomond walked, stole second and was finally driven in by Jorge Reyes.
Games 104, 105 & 106 @ Boise Spuds
7/25 @ Boise W 4-2
7/26 @ Boise L 4-6 (F/10)
7/27 @ Boise L 1-4
Heading off to Boise the series started well as Wichita took game one. Aviators scored two in the second innings to Spuds one run and that scoring pattern was repeated in the third innings. Chet Dickinson collected his BBA career best seventh win, pitching seven innings allowing seven hits, a walk and just two runs while striking out four batters. The second game saw Wichita score in the first innings and slowly build a 4-0 lead by the middle of the seventh innings. Spuds got their first run in the bottom of the seventh and the bullpen coughed up two homers in the bottom of the ninth that led to three runs which tied the game at 4-4. The extras didn’t last very long though as the bullpen gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the tenth to square the series. Jason Bowen went 3-4 with a walk and picked up his 47th RBI while Juan Hernandez went 2-5, scoring twice and also driving in a run. Julio Velasco had his best outing as a starter, going five innings and only allowing two hits but the bullpen blew that for him. The third game was an anti-climax as Boise built had a 4-0 lead themselves by the seventh innings and the only Aviators run came in the ninth innings, a solo homer by Mario Rodriguez with two outs already. There were just nine hits total in the game, four to Wichita, Taito Kimmonen (2-1) lost his first BBA decision, pitching into the sixth innings and allowing four hits, three walks and four runs, only three earned.
Regular Season Standings (July 27th)
2044 Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Atlantic City | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Calgary | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Edmonton | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | Charlotte | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Las Vegas | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | Charm City | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Mexico City | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phoenix | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| San Antonio | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | New Orleans | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| TOTALS | 16 | 22 | 11 | 27 | TOTALS | 5 | 7 | 4 | 14 |