Week 8: May 19th-May 25th
A powerful performance in the final game of the Boise series brought another series win and the fourth series on the trot that Aviators haven’t lost. The trip to San Antonio brought things back into perspective, but we finished the week with at least a chance of another shared 4-game series.
Game 46 vs Boise Spuds
5/19 vs Boise W 9-2 (36,097)
Looking to win their third series of the season, Wichita started with a 2-run homer from Duane Whitley Jr in the first innings and added another four runs in the third to all but seal the win. Three more in the sixth was the fat fryer for Spuds who did only manage two runs in their five hits in the game. Showing more signs of climbing out of his slump, Jorge Rincon went 2-4 with a walk and scored three times from the lead-off spot, Guillaume Martin and Whitley Jr in the second & third spots both drove three runs in. A rare win for Takanori Goto improving his record to 2-6, he pitched seven innings allowing five hits, two walks and two runs while striking out eight batters.
Games 47, 48 & 49 @ San Antonio Outlaws
5/20 @ San Antonio L 4-5
5/21 @ San Antonio L 0-6
5/22 @ San Antonio L 0-1
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Full of confidence Wichita travelled to San Antonio and initiated a tail-spin hard into the ground, failing to even score in two of the three games. 3-1 down at one point in game one the Aviators came back with top runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 4-4, unfortunately the Outlaws still had something left in the tank. Second batter of the bottom of the ninth San Antonio hit a walk-off homer over the right field wall. Duane Whitley Jr showed his worth to the team again, going 2-4, scoring twice and collecting three more RBI. Game two saw Outlaws hit four runs in the third innings to seal a win as Aviators only managed two hits all game (equalled by their error total). Ramon Guerrero, unusually couldn’t get out of the fourth innings before being lifted and Julio Velasco picked up an oblique strain and is expected to miss at least a week. The final game of the series saw it decided in the bottom of the first innings when San Antonio scored the only run of the contest. Aviators again couldn’t use their bats, managing only three hits. Jose Montoya gave up just that one run, received no support and dropped his record to 4-5. More worryingly Ignacio Martinez blew his elbow out and will be gone for the season, at 30-yrs-old it will more than likely be the end of his brief career in Wichita as the franchise hold a team option on his one remaining year.
Games 50, 51 & 52 @ Edmonton Jackrabbits
5/23 @ Edmonton W 7-0
5/24 @ Edmonton W 6-5
5/25 @ Edmonton L 2-5
Moving on to Edmonton Wichita made the Jackrabbits pay in game one for their frustration in the last two games in San Antonio even if they did take their time. After six innings the game was still scoreless before Aviators finally scored in the seventh curtesy of another Duane Whitley Jr homer. It stayed that way into the final innings when back-up first baseman Javier Bultron broke it open with a Grand Slam, his first homer of 2044, two more runs in the innings gave the score a rather flattering look. Former Rule 5 pick, Chet Dickinson, pitched into the eighth only allowing five hits and collected his fourth win, beating his tally of three in 2043. Tony Alomar took it the rest of the way, collecting his fifth save of 2044 in his 26th outing. Outhit 13-7 in game two the Aviators made those hits count, scoring three runs in both the fifth & seventh innings to seal at least a share of the spoils in the series. Wichita came unstuck in the third game, reverting to just three hits. Edmonton were 5-0 up after four innings and the game was over. A 2-run homer off the bat of Jason Bowen reduced the deficit but that was that.
Regular Season Standings (May 25th)
2044 Record v Johnson League
| Frontier | HW | HL | AW | AL | Atlantic | HW | HL | AW | AL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Atlantic City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calgary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edmonton | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Charlotte | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Las Vegas | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Charm City | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Mexico City | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Antonio | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | New Orleans | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 6 | 13 | 6 | 15 | TOTALS | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
With two pitchers now on the IL, following the series in San Antonio, Wichita have had to make changes to the roster. Promoted back to the BBA after five seasons in Triple-A is 29-yr-old Jesus Zapata, he isn’t really rated that highly and is somewhat lacking in his control of the ball, but is 32-9 over the last three seasons so deserves his shot back in the big time where he last played for Vancouver in 2039. The second addition is on the field, despite his recent improved form Wichita are still unhappy with Jorge Rincon. Therefore 23-yr-old utility OF Elmer Lomond is called up from Albuquerque following his successful BBA cup of coffee in the last knockings of the 2043 season.