Williams-Sutton Leads Offensive Outburst in 9-4 Win
Credit: EVT Sports
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Dwanya Williams-Sutton hit two home runs and brought in four RBIs as the TinCaps evened a three-game series with a 9-4 victory over the South Bend Cubs.
Williams-Sutton put the TinCaps on the scoreboard with a lead-off solo shot in the bottom of the second. The home team added two more in the third when Chandler Seagle doubled for his first hit with the TinCaps. After two walks loaded the bases, Williams-Sutton faced a 3-2 count before drawing a walk for his second RBI of the game. A run then scored on a wild pitch to give the TinCaps a 3-0 lead.
The TinCaps added two more in the sixth. Justin Lopez and Ethan Skender both singled, and Chris Givin then doubled off the left-field wall to score Lopez and put runners on the corners. Seagle got his second hit of the night, slapping a single to left to score Skender.
Williams-Sutton struck again in the seventh inning. DH Michael Curry hit a leadoff double and Williams-Sutton launched a 397-foot rainbow over the left-field fence, giving the TinCaps a six-run lead at 7-1. Two walks followed the homer, and Givin hit his second double of the night to make the score 9-1.
On the mound, Jesus Gonzalez recently elevated from Tri-City, made his first start and pitched four innings of no-hit baseball before the Cubs scored one run on two hits in the fifth. Overall, Gonzalez was solid in his appearance, striking out two, walking one, and forcing ten ground balls.
In relief, Franklin Van Gurp pitched three innings, giving up four hits and two runs, both of which came in the eighth. Henry Henry closed out the game in the ninth, allowing one run on two hits and two wild pitches.
The rubber game of the series is Friday night, and the TinCaps will close out the season at home with a Labor Day weekend series against the Lansing Lugnuts.
GAME NOTES
–Announced attendance was 7,133.
–All together, the TinCaps had eleven hits. Eight of nine batters got a hit, and everyone in the lineup reached base at least once.
–The two HRs were Williams-Sutton’s seventh and eight of the season, tying him with Curry for second-most on the team.
–Lopez had a busy night on defense, playing a role in twelve putouts throughout the game, including all three in the fourth inning.
–In the Condiment Packet Race, Ketchup pulled within two of Mustard. With only four games left in the season, Mustard leads 20-18. Relish remains winless.
Ken A. Bugajski lives and works in Fort Wayne, Indiana. An English professor by trade, he spends many summer nights with his wife and daughter at Parkview Field, home of the TinCaps.