WICHITA WIND SURGE
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Wichita Wind Surge hit the road and hammered a pair of home runs in an 8-3 win over the Corpus Christi Hooks. The Surge takes game one of their six-game series and moves into a first-place tie in the division with Tulsa.
The Surge took advantage of a pair of first inning walks and scored two in the first inning. Leobaldo Cabrera slammed a two-run homer to left field in the second inning to extend the lead to 4-1.
Starting pitcher Louie Varland allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings and had six strikeouts in a no-decision. Kody Funderburk earned the win coming from the bullpen and improved to 4-0 on the season.
Michael Helman led off the ninth inning with a solo home run. Wilyer Abreu led the way for the Hooks with a home run, double and two walks and scored all three Corpus Christi runs.
Notes: Kevin Merrell rejoined the team after a three-week stint in Triple-A St Paul. The Wind Surge pitchers had 12 strikeouts and lead the Texas League with 380 for the season. The Surge improves to a Texas League-best 13-5 on the road.
Coming Up: The Wind Surge will face Corpus Christi Wednesday evening for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. Simeon Woods Richardson will take the mound for the Wind Surge against Jose Bravo. Catch the game on MiLB.com.