HEARTBREAK CITY, MINNESOTA By: Nolan Brooks St. Paul, MN-The Kansas City T-Bones (28-26) came into St. Paul (36-20) looking for a win on the road, but the dynamic St. Paul offense created fireworks with a walk-off grand slam to take game one, 9-7.
The T-Bones wasted no time and scored as quickly as Mason Davis steals bases, thanks to a Shawn O’Malley base hit that would score Dylan Tice. The rally would continue after Casey Gillaspie smoked the baseball down the right field line to score Shawn O’Malley, giving the T-Bones a 2-0 lead just a half inning into the game.
The Saints offense is not first in the league in hits by chance as they would also put a run on the board via the base hit from Josh Allen. The Saints kept the heat coming as Jeremy Martinez laced one into the left field corner to tie the ball game at two runs apiece through only one inning of play.
The T-Bones bats were en fuego in the second inning as well as Dylan Tice drove in Taylor Sparks, and Mason Davis strolled into home plate after a called balk on Saints pitcher Jordan Jess, and just like that, the T-Bones took a 4-2 lead.
But man oh man, how the Saints offense rolled. After a Chris Baker single, two runs would score to tie the ball game at 4-4…two innings into the ball game. As soon as it seemed like both teams could break double digits in under five innings, both teams would make a complete turnaround, going scoreless in innings 3-6.
The T-Bones would break the silence in the seventh inning after a lined shot to center from Christian Correa would wipe the loaded bases clean, giving the T-Bones a 7-4 lead. St. Paul would answer the call though, scoring a run on a passed ball cutting the T-Bone lead to 7-5.
The T-Bones seemed to have a win in the bag, but St. Paul’s Josh Allen had other plans as Allen smashed a walk-off grand slam after three Carlos Diaz walks before Allen’s at-bat. St. Paul would take game one by a score of 9-7, showing why they are first in the league in home runs.
St. Paul’s relief pitcher Ryan Smith was credited the win, improving to 1-0, and KC’s Carlos Diaz gets the loss as he moves to 0-1.
The T-Bones will continue their mid-week series against the St. Paul Saints in game two of the series tomorrow afternoon. Hear all the action on the T-Bones Broadcast Network with a first pitch of 1:05 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.
Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages as well as mini plans are on sale now online or by calling (913) 328-5618 or by visiting the Saint Luke's Box Office between the hours of 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group ticket sales are also on sale now.
For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to www.tbonesbaseball.
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