Wichita Wind Surge
TULSA, Okla. (April 16, 2025)—The Wichita Wind Surge fell 5-4 in 14 innings to the Tulsa Drillers at ONEOK Field. Today’s contest was the longest game of 2025 for the Wind Surge at three hours and 57 minutes.
Chris Newell singled up the middle in Tulsa’s first at-bat in the bottom of the first. John Rhodes found the outfield grass two batters later while Newell reached third after an outfield error. Damon Keith followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in Newell for a 1-0 Drillers lead.
Besides that unearned run that came across, Wichita starter Chase Chaney kept Tulsa off the scoreboard for the rest of his outing, throwing for four and two-thirds innings and yielding just six hits with a strikeout.
Jake Rucker pushed one the other way to tie the game on a sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the seventh, with Noah Cardenas scoring from third. The run was the first of the series for the Wind Surge.
After Rucker reached on a single in the top of the ninth, Kyler Fedko teed off on a hanging slider for a go-ahead two-run blast to left field, his second long ball of the season, and a 3-2 Wichita advantage.
The Drillers would connect on back-to-back singles by Keith and Jose Ramos with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Aaron Bracho would then line a ground-rule double to the left field corner that hopped out of play to bring Tulsa within one. After Yeiner Fernandez was intentionally walked to load the bases, Ezequiel Pagan tied the game on a sacrifice fly to center field. John Stankiewicz struck out the following batter, Sean McLain, to force extra innings.
Both sides stranded men in the tenth, while Aaron Sabatostarted a highlight-reel double play in the bottom half of the frame.
Tanner Schobel singled in Rucker in the top of the eleventh, though Jose Ramos tied the game again in the home half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center. Neither side budged until the bottom of the fourteenth, when Yeiner Fernandez walked it off on a single to right field for a 5-4 final.
Jarret Whorff takes the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season, throwing the final two innings and giving up the go-ahead score while walking and striking out a pair each.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Today was the first time that Wichita played in a game that pushed into extra innings. It also marked the earliest start of the season (11:04 AM) so far for the Wind Surge.
- This game was also the longest game of 2025 for Wichita, both innings-wise (14) and time-wise (3:57). The 14 innings are the most the Wind Surge have played in a single game in franchise history.
- Through two games in this series, Wichita starters have not given up an earned run in eight and one-third innings pitched.
- Tyler Dearden had the first 4-hit game of the season for the Wind Surge, connecting on four singles out of the ninth spot in the lineup.
- Kyler Fedko is now tied for the team lead in home runs with 2 (Rubel Cespedes, Tanner Schobel).