KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Despite the dreary conditions, the third matchup between the Kansas City T-Bones and Grand Prairie AirHogs was anything but a dull game as the T-Bones managed to pull out a 3-2 victory in 11 innings Wednesday afternoon at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

 

Kansas City’s offense jumped on AirHogs starter Blake Oliver early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning after T-Bones second baseman Ryan Cavan, who singled, advanced to second on a Nate Tenbrink groundout. With a combination of a Jake Blackwood single and an error from center fielder Chris Elder, Cavan scored from second.

 

Grand Prairie tied the game in the sixth inning, and the score stayed notched at 1-1 for the next five innings until the top of the 11th, when the international tiebreaker rule came into play. With the international rule, the player who made the last out in the previous inning starts as a runner at second base and play resumes normally. With the AirHogs Jordy Hart on second, Robi Estrada laid down a sacrifice bunt that put Hart on third. Ronnie Richardson then drove in his second RBI of the game with a double to deep right-center field, bringing the score to 2-1.

 

Kansas City, however, was far from finished. After Cavan, who started at second, went to third on a passed ball, he scored on a groundout by Nate Tenbrink, tying the game at 2-2. With one out and nobody on, the T-Bones got two more runners on base when Blackwood reached on an error by Grand Prairie third baseman Ridge Hoopii-Haslam, and Adam Bailey was intentionally walked. Blackwood was then thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a base hit by Vladimir Frias. Robby Kuzdale came up, though, with Bailey on third base and knocked the game-winning single through the hole between short and third.

 

T-Bones starter Mike Nannini had a solid outing, allowing just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings while striking out three. The fourth Kansas City pitcher, Fernando Hernandez (2-2), who pitched the 11th, got the win.

 

Kansas City (23-17) will go for its ninth straight series win in the four-game finale against Grand Prairie (18-28) Thursday night at 7:05 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. Tickets are available by calling the Providence Medical Center Box Office at CommunityAmerica Ballpark at 913-328-5618.