Week Two: April 6th - 13th
A rough week for Wichita, six games decided by two runs on less & two long extra innings losses. Big decisions at the end of week two as the first two waiver claims of the season arrive. Art least Jim Gouzzie has started hitting but several are still in a funk, including Luis Maldonado who managed just .080 from six games. Overall, the team’s power is also lacking so far in 2043. Pitcher’s walks have been cleaned up by the staff in general, only two have walked more than four batters in 2043 while five of the staff have a K/BB of 3.0 or more, but surprisingly enough it has been the bullpen that is struggling at the moment.
Game 7 @ Las Vegas Hustlers
4/7 @ Las Vegas W 5-3
The final game of the Hustlers series clinched a series win for Aviators. Rule 5’er Damon Tipping was shaky early on, walking three, but he recovered to go six innings, only giving up three runs. A Jason Bowen eighth innings single drove in Luis Maldonado to make it 3-3 and Juan Roman led off the ninth with a pinch-hit homer and Jorge Rincon scored a two-out insurance run.
Games 8, 9 & 10 vs Mexico City Aztecs
4/9 vs Mexico City L 2-3 (F/13) (36,328)
4/10 vs Mexico City L 6-7 (F/15) (38,506)
4/11 vs Mexico City L 7-8 (39,809)
What a rough series this was. Tony Alomar had a rare bad outing in game one, coughing up a home run in both the eighth & ninth innings to turn a 2-0 win into extra innings where Orlando Sanchez gave up the winning run in the 13th innings, wasting Chet Dickinson’s seven strong innings. In game two, three runs by Mexico in the third tied the game at 4-4 and there we stayed till the 12th. Both teams scored a run in that innings and we had to carry on till the 15th when Aviators could only score one in reply to Aztec’s two in the top of the 15th. Clive Timberlake went 2-6 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in a run as well. There was a lot of shouting and object throwing in the locker room after the final game of the series. A 3-run homer by Duane Whitley Jr in the third innings extended Wichita’s lead to 6-1. All looked rosy until they coughed up five in the fifth and two in the sixth. Sergio Rojas had only given up two hits and a run in the first four innings, but imploded in the fifth. With two quick outs he gave up four hits and a walk leading to five runs. Jim Gouzzie finding the use of his bat, went 4-5, scoring twice and driving another run in.
Games 11 & 12 vs Phoenix Talons
4/12 vs Phoenix L 2-4 (36,867)
4/13 vs Phoenix W 5-4 (29,520)
Phoenix had an early 2-0 lead, but Aviators had come back to 2-2 after seven innings. A rough outing by Tony Alomar again gave him his first loss of 2043, he gave up three hits, a walk and hit a batter to surrender the two winning runs. In game two of the series, Talons again grabbed a 2-0 lead, but by the fifth innings Aviators had turned it around to a 3-2 lead. Jason Bowen hit a two-run shot in the eighth to seemingly make the game safe. Doug Clement made it interesting though, giving up a ninth innings 2-run homer but was able to close the game out. Damon Tipping pitched into the seventh innings to grab his first ever BBA win.
Regular Season Standings {April 13th)
2043 Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 1 | 2 | - | - | Atlantic City | - | - | - | - |
| Calgary | - | - | - | - | Brooklyn | - | - | - | - |
| Edmonton | - | - | - | - | Charlotte | - | - | - | - |
| Las Vegas | - | - | 3 | 1 | Charm City | - | - | - | - |
| Mexico City | 0 | 3 | - | - | Jacksonville | - | - | - | - |
| Phoenix | 1 | 1 | - | - | Montreal | - | - | - | - |
| San Antonio | - | - | - | - | New Orleans | - | - | - | - |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | - | - | - | - |
| TOTALS | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | TOTALS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitcher of the Week: 36-yr-old Mauro Flores had no decisions in his two starts this week but he pitched two quality starts, allowing just seven hits & two runs in 15 IP. He walked one batter and struck out five.
Batter of the Week: 24-yr-old Jim Gouzzie regained the use of his bat, hitting .321 (9-28) in six games, only one extra base hit though. He scored twice and drove two runs in.