By GM Vaughan

Grand Prairie, Texas—On a night when most T-Bones fans were not only cheering on their home team from the metro, they were also likely crossing their fingers for a Sioux Falls win over Sioux City and a Lincoln win over Cleburne to help their chances in the race for the wild-card spot in the playoffs.

The first inning started favorably—with a stand-up double for Shawn O’Malley. Daniel Nava quickly followed suit, hitting another double, driving in Daniel Nava, and the T-Bones took an early lead in the first inning, 1-0.

The second inning proved to be trouble for AirHogs pitcher Cui Enting, who had allowed six hits and five runs by the end of the inning. Danny Mars and Carrizales both reached first on singles, and an RBI single by Ramsey Romano brought home Danny Mars, increasing the T-Bones lead to 2-0. A Dylan Tice base hit drove in Carrizales, and the T-Bones were in business, 3-0, in the second.  Shawn O’Malley added to the T-Bones total with his 40^th RBI of the season, driving in Romano and making it 4-0—all KC! Stewart Ijames followed with a single, the T-Bones’ 8^th hit of the night off Enting, loading the bases. Enting walked Daniel Nava, which brought home Tice. Then a sac-fly long shot by Casey Gillaspie allowed O’Malley to score, and the T-Bones ended the inning with a 6-0 commanding lead.

The fourth inning looked much like the second, with hit after hit by the T-Bones. An infield single for Dylan Tice got KC on base in the fourth. O”Malley reached base on a fielder’s choice, and Stewart Ijames blasted a triple to right field, scoring Tice and making it 7-0. A base hit by Nava that followed made it 8-0, KC. Gillaspie managed another hit, making the AirHogs bullpen get busy. But before Enting was removed, Correa hit a standup double that brought in Nava, giving KC a commanding lead, 9-0. A Danny Mars putout scored Gillaspie, and Corrizales advanced to first on another single, followed quickly by a single by Romano that scored both Correa and Corrizales, making the score 12-0, and prompting the exit of Enting and the entrance of Jia Hong on the mound for the AirHogs.

Perrin walked the leadoff batter, Justin Byrd, raising the hopes of the AirHogs as Li Ning, who was 2-for-2 for the night, reached base. Junpeng also reached first on a fielder’s choice, giving life to the AirHogs offense. Na Chuang had an RBI single that scored Justin Byrd, making the score 12-1, KC.

Perrin walked Li Ning to start the bottom of the sixth. Trevor Simms reached base next after hitting a single—the third AirHogs hit of the night. Na Chuang sliced a ball to the corner that looked foul, but it was called fair, resulting in a stand-up double that scored Li Ning and Simms, making the score 12-3, KC; however, in an unusual move, the umpires reversed the call, returning the AirHogs to base and keeping the score 12-1.

Singles by Tice, O’Malley, Ijames, and Nava led to a 23-hit total night by the seventh inning, bringing the score to 13-1. Austin Biggar earned his first professional RBI on a hit-by-a-pitch by Jia Hong and a walk for Corrizales brought home Ijames, making it 15-1.

The final run of the night was scored by former AirHogs player Stewart Ijames who hit a homerun, his fifth hit of the night, making the final score 16-1, Kansas City.

The winning pitcher was Perrin (7-1), and the losing pitcher was Enting, (0-2).

The T-Bones will look to sweep the series tomorrow night at 7:05 as the two teams face off in the final matchup of the year at AirHogs stadium in Grand Prairie, TX. Pitching for the T-Bones will be T.J. House (7-9) who will face Travis Ballew (1-11) for the AirHogs. Catch all the action live on the T-Bones Broadcast Network. 

The T-Bones remain very much alive in the playoff hunt. Wednesday night Sioux City (55-40) beat Sioux Falls 9-1 and pulled into a first-place tie with Cleburne (55-40) who lost 9-8 in 12 innings at Lincoln. KC trails both clubs by one game with five to play, four of which are against Sioux City at T-Bones Stadium starting Friday night.

The T-Bones return for the final home stand of the season at JustBats Field at T-Bones Stadium Friday night at 7:05 p.m. against Sioux City. Tickets to all T-Bones home games 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.com. and the T-Bones Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.   

Box Score

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