WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Wind Surge (25-38) held off a late Springfield rally to defeat the Springfield Cardinals (27-36) 10-9 Wednesday afternoon at Equity Bank Park, taking the first two games of a six-game series behind a pair of three-RBI performances from Andrew Cossetti and Kala'i Rosario.
Cossetti matched a season high with three hits and drove in three runs, highlighted by a two-run triple in the third inning. The veteran has now driven in multiple runs in three consecutive games. Rosario added three RBIs of his own, blasting his 11th home run of the season while extending his on-base streak to 18 games. Khadim Diaw recorded a multi-hit performance in his Double-A debut, while Quinn McDaniel reached base three times and has now reached safely 12 times in his first four games with Wichita.
On the mound, Cory Lewis turned in a strong start, allowing just one unearned run over four innings to lower his ERA to 3.86. Hunter Gregory added a scoreless relief appearance, and Jaylen Nowlin recorded a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
THE RUNDOWN
Springfield struck first in the opening inning, using a walk and a single to move a runner into scoring position before a passed ball brought home the game's first run.
Lewis settled in after the opening frame, retiring Springfield in order over the next two innings to keep Wichita within striking distance.
The Wind Surge answered in the third. A double and a walk put two runners aboard before Cossetti ripped a two-run triple into the gap, giving Wichita a 2-1 lead.
Lewis continued to cruise through the fourth, generating weak contact and keeping Springfield off balance.
The Cardinals regained the lead in the fifth. After a leadoff runner reached on an error, Springfield capitalized with an RBI single before taking advantage of three two-out Wichita errors and a pair of hits to build a 6-2 advantage.
Wichita responded immediately in the bottom half. A walk and a single put runners on the corners before a successful double steal plated a run. Rosario followed with a two-run homer, his 11th of the season, to trim the deficit to 6-5.
Springfield added another run in the sixth on a single, double and sacrifice fly, but the Wind Surge answered again. Wichita scored three times in the bottom of the inning on a pair of RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk to reclaim the lead, 8-7.
The Wind Surge added some insurance in the seventh. A single and four walks produced two more runs, extending Wichita's lead to 10-7.
The Cardinals made one final push in the eighth, scoring twice on a solo home run and a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one.
Nowlin took over in the ninth and retired the side in order to secure the 10-9 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Wichita leads the series 2-0.
- The Wind Surge recorded 10 hits, their 10th double-digit hit performance of the season.
- Andrew Cossetti tied a season high with three hits.
- Cossetti recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season and his fourth multi-RBI game.
- Cossetti has driven in multiple runs in three consecutive games.
- Billy Amick drove in his team-leading 49th run of the season.
- Kala'i Rosario has reached base safely in all 18 games since returning from the injured list.
- Rosario recorded his eighth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Rosario blasted his 11th home run of the year and logged his eighth multi-hit game of the season.
- Khadim Diaw made his Double-A debut and recorded a multi-hit performance.
- Quinn McDaniel has reached base 12 times in his first four games with Wichita.
- RHP Cory Lewis allowed one unearned run over four innings in his start.
- RHP Ruddy Gomez made his first appearance since being activated from the 60-day injured list.
- RHP Hunter Gregory recorded a scoreless appearance.
- LHP Jaylen Nowlin tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season.
STAT OF THE DAY
3 — Andrew Cossetti tied a season high with three hits and has now driven in multiple runs in three consecutive games.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Wind Surge continue their six-game series against the Springfield Cardinals on Thursday 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.