Royals on the Farm 9/12

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 2, Corpus Christi 1 (best-of-5 series tied 1-1)

3B Gordon 0-1, 3 BB -- .273
RF Butler 2-4, 2B, K -- .429
LF Lubanski 1-4, RBI -- .192, walkoff single
DH D. Brown 1-4, 2 K -- .409
CF Maier 0-4 -- .200
2B Murphy 0-4, 2 K -- .375
SS Sanchez 1-3, BB, RS -- .250

Buckner 7 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 8 K -- ND, 1.29 ERA, stellar start
DeHoyos 2 IP, 3 H, K, WP -- W, 2-0, 1.50 ERA

*** Both teams had only 6 hits and the only one that meant a lot to Wichita was the last one as Chris Lubanski came through in the 9th to get the Wranglers a 2-1 win. The game was scoreless going into the Wichita 5th when Kila Kaaihue led off with a walk and got to third on 2 sac bunts before scoring on a wild pitch to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead. The Hooks evened the score with a run on 2 hits in the 6th off Billy Buckner, who otherwise pitched 1-hit ball over 7 IP. Gabe DeHoyos came in for the 8th and gave up a double and single to the first 2 batters he faced. Somehow the Wranglers got out of the jam as they nailed the runner at home trying to score on a grounder, got a pop out from Hooks OF prospect Hunter Pence and DeHoyos K'd Walter Young to end the inning. The first two Wrangler batters in the 9th made outs before singles by Angel Sanchez and Brett Groves and an Adam Donachie walk loaded the bases. Lubanski stepped up and singled to right to bring the winning run home. Hooks CF Josh Anderson was 2-4 to move to .273, Pence was 0-3 with 2 SBs and an RBI to drop to .381 and SS Osvaldo Fernando was 2-3 with a double, error and RS to move to .438.

The teams have Wednesday off as the series shifts to Corpus Christi. Game 3 is Thursday. Luke Hochevar is slated to start for the Wranglers. In other news, Dee Brown and RP Devon Lowery were arrested outside a Wichita bar early Saturday morning as part of a crowd "failing to disperse" after the bar closed. No disciplinary action has been handed down yet.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Missoula 4, Chukars 0 (Missoula leads best-of-3 series 1-0)

LF Bigler 1-4 -- .636
CF Dickerson 1-4, 2B -- .273
RF Gonzalez 1-3 -- .444, only 3 IF hits right there
2B Mertins 0-4, K -- .250
DH Maddox 0-3, K -- .167
SS McConnell 0-3, E -- .000

Hardy 7 IP, 2 UER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K, E -- L, 0-1, 0.00 ERA, 3 walks unlike Hardy's usual performance
Casey IP, 2 UER, H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 0.00 ERA

*** Four errors, a wild pitch and a passed ball helped lead to 4 unearned runs as Missoula capitalized on Idaho Falls mistakes in game 1 of the Pioneer League Championship Series. A Hardy throwing error in the 1st helped lead to the Osprey's first run and, as Osprey SP Anthony Barnette was perfect through 5 IP, Missoula had a runner at third with 2 outs in the 5th when IF C Matt Morizio threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt and the second Osprey run scored. IF broke the perfect game up with 2 2-out singles in the 6th but stranded the runners and stranded Joe Dickerson at third in the 7th. A fielding error by 3B Brenan Herrera and a passed ball on Morizio in the 8th helped key a 2-run Osprey rally to make it 4-0 and the last 9 Chukars went down in order to end the game. Barnette allowed 3 hits with 6 K over 8 IP to move to 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA on the playoffs, Missoula C John Hester was 2-3 with a triple and RS to move to .545 and LF Dan Perales was 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .400.

The teams have Wednesday off as the series shifts to Idaho Falls for the crucial game 2 for the Chukars. Blake Wood is set to start for IF.