Week Three: April 14th – 20th
Game 13 vs Phoenix Talons
4/14 vs Phoenix L 2-4 (31,058)
Games 14, 15 & 16 vs Montreal Blazers
4/15 vs Montreal L 0-3 (28,905)
4/16 vs Montreal L 0-4 (29,960)
4/17 vs Montreal L 2-5 (32,099)
Games 17 & 18 vs Jacksonville Hurricanes
4/19 vs Jacksonville L 8-11 (29,535)
4/20 vs Jacksonville W 12-9 (25,372)
Aviators world is crashing down early on this year and look to finish the first month bottom of the Frontier. Eight new pitchers have actually pitched reasonably well, the run difference is only -13, it’s just that the bats haven’t hit anything at all to give the poor boys on the mound some help. Nobody in all truthfulness is that far off the pace, the luck just hasn’t been running with Wichita at all. Against Montreal we got just 10 hits in the first two games and never looked like scoring, shut out in both. The third game Aviators got two on the board in the first, but again had turned it into a one run deficit by halfway and surrendered a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put an end of any bottom of the ninth heroics.
In the first game against Jacksonville Jim Gouzzie hit three homers, joining Luis Alvarez as the second player to have three in a match this season. Unfortunately, that was wasted as Tony Alomar blew his second save of 2043, walking three consecutive batters and an 8-7 lead after eight was turned into an 8-11 loss in the ninth. Those three homers from Gouzzie though were three of only five Wichita hit all week.
Talking of three’s, new waiver pick-up Takanori Goto introduced himself, on his debut v Montreal, to the Flight Crew by giving up his first run in the third with the help of a hit batter and a wild pitch. In the next innings he hit three consecutive batters and walked the fourth to bring home the next run. Our other waiver claim, Javier Bultron, pinch hit for Luis Maldonado against Phoenix and stroked an RBI single for his first Wichita AB. Maldonado could find himself sitting more often soon, he currently has one homer, three RBI and a triple slash of .169/.244/.268.
Even in our one win of the week we managed to turn a 6-0 lead into an 8-6 deficit before finally recuing the win, three of Aviators six victories have come in high shootout games ( 12-9, 13-10 & 12-9), despite that the fans have been very flaky this year with attendances as low as 25,000 already, none in the 40,000’s and the average crowd down nearly 13%. This really does all feel like quicksand.
Regular Season Standings (April 20th)
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 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| Phoenix | 1 | 2 | - | - | Montreal | 0 | 3 | - | - |
| San Antonio | - | - | - | - | New Orleans | - | - | - | - |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | - | - | - | - |
| TOTALS | 2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | TOTALS | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Pitcher of the Week: 26-yr-old Bernardo Longoria, in a poor wek for the pitching staff, pitched two innings without allowing a hit, walk or run while striking out three batters.
Batter of the Week: 24-yr-old Jim Gouzzie hit those three homers, 60% of the Aviators week's total. He scored six times and collected four RBI