Wichita Wind Surge
FRISCO, Texas — The Wichita Wind Surge were walked off 3-2 in 11 innings by the Frisco RoughRiders at Riders Field. The contest served as the premier game played by the Wind Surge on Labor Day in team history and the fourth ever for them to take place on a Monday.
After only one man reached through the first two innings against C.J. Culpepper and Ben Anderson, Wichita loaded the bases on an infield error and a pair of singles to left field with no outs in the top of the third. The following hitter, Kala’i Rosario, grounded a base knock to Frisco third baseman Cody Freeman, and every man moved up 90 feet for a 1-0 Wind Surge lead. A 6-4-3 double play allowed one more runner to score before the inning ended with a 2-0 Wichita advantage.
Max Acosta tied the game for the RoughRiders in the home half of the third on a two-run blast, his seventh of the season, to left center field, kickstarting a long standoff in the interdivisional clash.
The middle innings saw only three total hits between the two sides as shutdown pitching continued for Frisco’s Anderson and Wichita reliever Cody Laweryson, who held the RoughRiders hitless for both the fifth and sixth frames.
Aaron Zavala worked an eight-pitch walk, stole second base, and trotted ahead to third on a wild pitch as the potential go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh. Jorel Ortega began a 4-3 putout to strand Zavala there to keep the ballgame deadlocked 2-2 through seven. Another RoughRiders chance came with a similar spot after Acosta smoked a two-out triple to right in the eighth, and he ended up remaining there after an inning-ending flyout.
Cody Freeman singled to left on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth before moving up to third on a pulled single to right field by the RoughRiders' fifth hitter, Abimelec Ortiz; Zavala was then intentionally walked to load the bases. The Wind Surge infield put together a 6-2 force out and a 3-2-4 double play to force extra innings at Riders Field.
A sacrifice bunt moved Dalton Shuffield to third base, and a 5-2 force out at the plate became the initial out in the top of the 10th. After a five-pitch walk, Jake Rucker put men everywhere for Wichita, though nobody scored. A 1-2-3 bottom portion of the inning came together with Taylor Floyd on the hill, who finished his night with three scoreless innings. Later, the go-ahead man for the Wind Surge got left on third again in the top of the 11th after a close 3-1 play at first base.
Freeman played hero by blooping the game-winning single into right field for a 3-2 final in favor of Frisco in the bottom of the 11th inning. He provided the two of the final three hits all night for the RoughRiders in the series opener ahead of the Tuesday off-day.
Ricardo Velez dropped to 1-3 with Wichita after suffering the loss, striking out his first batter faced and surrendering the final hit of the night in the 11th.