LINCOLN, Neb. — The Wichita Wingnuts won 7-1 over the Lincoln Saltdogs in the rubber game of their series at Haymarket Park on Sunday evening.
Nick Singleton improved to 5-0 with eight innings of one-run ball. Singleton retired 23 of the final 26 batters he faced, striking out eight, walking one, and scattering five hits. Singleton needed only 97 pitches to get through eight innings.
Leading 2-1, the Wingnuts scored five times in the top of the ninth to break the game open. Edwin Bellorin led off with a walk and went to third on Mike Conroy's hit-and-run single through the right side. When Conroy took off for second on the first pitch to Thomas Fitzgerald, Lincoln catcher Pat Trettel's throw to second broke off the glove of shortstop Kevin Rios and into center field. Bellorin scored and Conroy went to third, giving the Wingnuts a 3-1 lead. Two batters later, Josh Horn singled through a drawn in Saltdogs' infield to make it 4-1. Ryan Patterson followed with a line drive home run over the left-center field wall to extend the lead to 6-1. Jorge Cortes homered in Wichita's next at bat, lining the ball over the right field wall on a full count.
