WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Wind Surge (13-11) were overwhelmed by the Arkansas Travelers (12-12) on Thursday night at Equity Bank Park, as Arkansas tied a franchise record with six home runs in an 11-3 victory.
Wichita struggled to contain Arkansas’ offense, allowing 11 runs on six home runs and four walks. Arkansas corner infielders Caleb Cali and Hunter Fitz-Gerald each homered twice.
The Wind Surge were limited to three hits offensively, highlighted by Ricardo Olivar’s two-RBI single in the first inning. Kala’i Rosario extended his on-base streak to eight games, drawing three walks in the loss.
On the mound, Darren Bowen provided solid relief, allowing one run over two innings while striking out two. Kyle Bischoff and Luis Quiñones also recorded scoreless outings out of the bullpen.
THE RUNDOWN
Arkansas opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run home run to right-center field, taking an early 2-0 lead.
Wichita answered in the bottom half of the inning. After reaching on an overthrow at first base that resulted in a Little League-style triple and drawing a walk, the Wind Surge put runners on the corners. Following an umpire interference sequence that prevented runners from advancing, Olivar delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 2-2.
The Travelers erupted in the second inning, launching three home runs, including back-to-back solo shots from Hunter Fitz-Gerald and Lazaro Montes. Arkansas added another two-run blast later in the frame to take a commanding 7-2 lead.
Arkansas added to its advantage in the third, capitalizing on a double, single and walk before scoring on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly to make it 9-2.
The Wind Surge answered with one run in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases before Andrew Cossetti’s sacrifice fly brought home a run. Wichita trailed 9-3.
The Travelers continued their power display in the fourth when Caleb Cali hit his second home run of the game, extending the lead to 10-3.
Arkansas added its sixth and final home run in the fifth, a solo shot that pushed the score to 11-3.
Both pitching staffs settled in from there, but Wichita could not recover from the early deficit.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Wichita allowed six home runs, tied for the most surrendered in a single game in franchise history.
- Arkansas tied its franchise record with six home runs.
- RF Kala’i Rosario extended his on-base streak to eight games and drew three walks.
- C Ricardo Olivar recorded his sixth multi-RBI game of the season.
- RHP Darren Bowen allowed one run over two innings with two strikeouts.
- RHP Kyle Bischoff recorded his second scoreless appearance of the season.
- RHP Luis Quiñones recorded his fifth scoreless outing of the year.
STAT OF THE DAY
6 — Wichita allowed six home runs, tying a franchise record for most surrendered in a single game.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Wind Surge continue their six-game series against the Arkansas Travelers on Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Equity Bank Park. Games can be heard on windsurge.com and viewed on MiLB.TV and Bally Sports Live. For tickets, visit windsurge.com/tickets.