Royals on the Farm 9/14 -- Wichita falters, IF done

AA - Wichita: Corpus Christi 9, Wranglers 3 (Hooks lead best-of-5 series 2-1)

3B Gordon 1-4, BB, HR (3), RBI, K -- .269
DH D. Brown 3-5, 2B (5), HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 K -- .444
RF Butler 1-5, K -- .368
LF Lubanski 0-5, 2 K -- .161
CF Maier 1-4, K -- .207
SS Sanchez 2-4, 2 K -- .286
2B Murphy 1-3, BB, K -- .370

Hochevar 2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 1-1, 9.82 ERA, first time rocked as a Royal
Herndon 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- 7.36 ERA
Plummer IP, K -- 7.71 ERA

*** Whereas Luke Hochevar was able to come in and dazzle Tulsa hitters in the Texas League semis, the Corpus Christi Hooks didn't seem to have a problem as they knocked Hochevar around for 6 runs over 2 innings to take command of the series and place the Wranglers' backs firmly against the wall. On the other hand, the Wranglers didn't do much against Hooks SP Chance Douglass despite 10 hits in the game. Only 3 of those 10 brought runs home. Hochevar got the first 2 outs of the 1st easily but then gave up a double, walk, RBI single and 2-run double to give the Hooks a 3-0 lead. With 2 outs and a runner on second in the 2nd, Hochevar again got lit up for a walk, RBI double and 2-run double to make it 6-0. Wichita got its first two batters on base in the 3rd and a Dee Brown RBI single cut the lead to 6-1 but with the bases loaded and 1 out the Wranglers couldn't cash in as Billy Butler struck out and Mitch Maier flew out to end the threat. Junior Herndon relieved Hochevar to start the 3rd and gave up a 2-run homer with 1 out to pour more cold water on the hopes for a Wrangler comeback. Wichita loaded the bases with 1 out in the 6th but Kila Kaaihue struck out and Adam Donachie grounded out to end the threat once more. Herndon gave up an RBI double in the Hooks 6th to make it 9-1 and the Wranglers stranded 2 more runners in the 8th before Alex Gordon and Brown hit back-to-back longballs with 2 out in the 9th to make the final score a little closer. Douglass went 6 IP for CC and allowed an ER on 6 hits with 4 walks and 10 K to make his playoff ERA 3.00 with a 2-0 record. Hooks RF Hunter Pence was 3-4 with 3 doubles, 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .440, DH Walter Young was 2-3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to move to .421 and 3B Mark Saccomanno was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .333.

Friday's crucial game 4 for Wichita features Tyler Lumsden versus top Astros pitching prospect Troy Patton.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Missoula 7, Chukars 2 (Missoula wins Pioneer League title, 2-0)

2B Mertins 1-3, BB, K, SB (3) -- .267
LF Bigler 1-4, 2 K, E (1), OF assist at home -- .533
1B Turner 1-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (7), 2 K -- .231
3B Herrera 1-2, BB, K -- .143, team only had 4 hits
CF Dickerson 0-4, 3 K -- .200, disappointing playoffs, especially PLCS
DH Maddox 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (1) -- .133, ditto
SS McConnell 0-3 -- .000, disappointing season all around, not a hit in the playoffs

B. Wood 4 2/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- L, 0-1, 5.79 ERA
Fisher 2 1/3 IP, ER, H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- 1.35 ERA
Abreu 2 IP, H, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA

*** Chukars starter Blake Wood gave the offense a hill to climb early and the bats weren't up to the task as IF's season ended with a championship series sweep by the Osprey. Missoula loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and 2 singles off Wood in the 1st but a double play appeared to give Wood a reprieve with only 1 run allowed before 2 RBI singles made it 3-0. Another would-be run was nailed at the plate by LF Brett Bigler to end the inning. Two of the Chukars' 4 hits came to start the 1st but IF ended up stranding 1 in the inning. With 2 outs in the 4th, Marc Maddox drew a walk and Jase Turner stepped up for a 2-run homer to right center for his 3rd of the playoffs to cut the lead to 1. Wood didn't let the momentum last long as he gave up a 3-run homer in the 5th before being pulled for Brent Fisher. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Fisher struck out 5 over 2 1/3 IP but allowed a solo insurance homer in the 7th to make it 7-2. IF stranded one runner in both the 6th and 7th but the final 7 batters went down in order to end the season and give Missoula the championship. Osprey SP Osbek Castillo got the win with 5 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 3 hits, 3 walks and 8 Ks. He was picked up with 3 1/3 IP of 1-hit, 6-K pitching from RP Hector Ambriz. Osprey 1B Shea McFeely (a member of the Oregon State team that just won the College World Series in June) was 1-4 with the big 3-run blast to finish at .333, 2B Sean Smith was 2-5 with the solo homer and RBI to finish at .278 and CF Tyler Jones was 2-4 with a walk and 2 RS to finish at .235.

With the season now in mothballs, IF finished the second half at 18-20 and overall finished 40-36. Two big what-ifs follow the season. 1B Luis Castillo was hitting .383 with a huge 1.025 OPS (.482 OBP) through 27 games before ending his season with a shoulder injury, and AZL IF Jeff Bianchi likely would have moved up to IF by the second half if not for his season-ending shoulder injury. Both guys' offensive numbers had to have made some kind of difference, but that's the way things go sometimes. Some of the '06 draftees came to the team and made a splash, most notably 9th-rounder IF Marc Maddox, who finished with a .336 BA and .932 OPS (.428 OBP) over 62 games and was second on the team with 40 RBI to go along with team-leading figures of 78 hits, 46 RS, 22 doubles and 4 triples. He walked 36 times compared to 33 Ks. Another notable draftee was 13th-rounder IF Kurt Mertins, who started hot but finished batting .342 with an .848 OPS over 61 games. He tied Maddox for the team lead in runs scored and was 1 hit behind Maddox while leading the team with 26 SB. He only walked 18 times, tho, with 39 Ks so his OBP didn't crack .400 (.397). OF Joe Dickerson, who showed flashes last year at AZL and this year at IF, finished with a .789 OPS (.331 OBP) but didn't really stand out in any category. He may be in IF again next year or may move to either Burlington -- the Appy League one or the low-A MWL team. Other offensive stat highlights were 1B Jase Turner's team leading 8 HR and 41 RBI over 66 games but he only hit .229 with a .760 OPS and K'd 85 times compared to only 38 BB. IF Chris McConnell showed up long enough to follow up a no-hit, good-glove campaign at low-A Burlington with a team leading 19 errors and .262 BA (.735 OPS) over 47 games in IF. OF Brett Bigler followed up a hot start by cooling considerably to a .276 BA (.692 OPS with a .392 OBP) but did steal 20 bases and was the best performer in the postseason for the Chukars. He did lead the team with 39 BB compared to 27 Ks. C Matt Morizio also carried a .429 OBP over 30 games.

Three regular Chukar pitchers (one starter, two relievers) had sub-3.00 ERAs, mainly SP Rowdy Hardy, who had a 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 52 Ks/5 BB over 80 1/3 IP. Gotta love that K/BB ratio. RP Aaron Hartsock, a 23rd rounder, led the team in wins with 6 while posting a 2.91 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 43 K/13 BB over 46 1/3 IP. RP Dan Best (14th rounder) had a 2.92 ERA and 1.35 WHIP with 15 K/8 BB over 37 IP. SP Everett Teaford (12th rounder) was also solid down the stretch to go 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 51 K/20 BB over 63 IP. 3rd-rounder Blake Wood finished 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 46 K/15 BB over 52 IP.

Here's a link to the IF season stats:

http://tinyurl.com/lc6fh