Week 10: June 2nd – 8th
Crossing into June Wichita are picking up a little, currently winning at a .369 clip, that’s a better winning percentage than they’ve finished with since 2040. That said it’s still a poor show all round although the two 2044 promoted rookies, Elmer Lomond & Guillaume Martin continue to outshine quite a few of the establishment. We are currently on a four-game winning streak, the best of the season.
Game 59 @ Montreal Blazers
6/2 @ Montreal L 1-5
Montreal finished off the series and completed the sweep. Wichita actually scored first in the game, when rookie Guillaume Martin hit his sixth homer of 2044 in the second innings. The game soon swung the Blazers way and three runs in the sixth blew it open for Montreal. Jose Montoya gave up three hits, two walks & two runs in five innings of work to take his seventh loss.
Games 60, 61, 62 & 63 vs Calgary Pioneers
6/3 vs Calgary L 1-7
6/4 vs Calgary L 1-6
6/5 vs Calgary W 6-4
6/6 vs Calgary W 5-3
Back home in Wichita, the Aviators split another 4-game series. The first two games were Pioneer blowouts as Aviators extended their losing streak to six and three successive games where they had scored just one run. In the first game it was all the fives for starter Chet Dickinson, he gave up five hits & five runs in five innings to drop his record to 5-5. In game two Takanori Goto gave up 10 hits & five runs in what we now know was his final game for Wichita. Duane Whitley Jr went 3-4, but failed to trouble the scorers in any other way. Calgary started game three well, two runs in the third innings but this time Aviators actually fought back ending up in a three-run eighth innings that turned a 3-4 deficit into a winning 6-4 score, snapping that six game losing streak. The #9 hitter Juan Hernandez went 2-4 scoring both times. Tony Alomar took the win, his second of 2044, pitching the last two innings. In the final game of the series Wichita opened with two runs in the first, but Calgary turned the game around with three runs in the sixth. Aviators had a rare determined streak though and replied by scratching out three runs of their own in the seventh to grab a share of the series.
Games 64 & 65 vs Phoenix Talons
6/7 vs Phoenix W 3-2
6/8 vs Phoenix W 8-6
Having lost all four 2044 games in Phoenix, Wichita welcome them into Thomas Magnum Stadium looking for some sort of revenge. In the first game we went into the ninth innings leading 2-0 but Talons had a late sting in their tail, running in two runs to tie the game. Aviators weren’t giving up though and three pitches into the bottom of the ninth Guillaume Martin sent the ball over the right field fences to walk-off the game. Wichita damn near iced the second game in the first innings with five runs, Phoenix came back though and mid-5th it was 5-5. Bottom of the fifth Martin drove in the go-ahead run before Matt Chambers launched a 2-run homer to right-centre field for the insurance runs. Chambers went 2-4, scoring twice and driving in four runs as Aviators extended that winning streak to four games. Chet Dickinson picked up his sixth win despite giving up five runs (only three earned).
Regular Season Standings (June 8th)
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 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edmonton | 0 | 3 | 3 | 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 | 1 | 2 |
| Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| San Antonio | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | New Orleans | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wichita | X | X | X | X | Rockville | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 10 | 15 | 7 | 15 | TOTALS | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 |