Darren Bowen was one out from carrying a tie game through the fifth inning Wednesday night. Frisco never gave him that out.
Four consecutive two-out hits turned the inning against Bowen, Paxton Kling’s soft two-run single completing a four-run surge that sent Wichita toward a 7-5 loss at Equity Bank Park. The Wind Surge made the RoughRiders work for it, scoring three times in the eighth and bringing the tying run to the plate, but the damage in the fifth proved too much to erase.
Wichita manager Nico Giratano had outlined the difficulty of navigating Frisco’s order before the game.
“You look up and down the lineup, they’ve got guys that can produce, and there’s no drop-off, right? So you’ve got to be on your game when you’re playing Frisco.”
— Nico Giratano, Wichita Wind Surge Manager
Bowen entered with the score tied at 2 and quickly retired Sebastian Walcott and Dylan Dreiling. Rafe Perich was hit by a pitch, however, and Gleider Figuereo followed with a single. Arturo Disla rolled the go-ahead hit into center, Yeison Morrobel singled to right and Kling dropped a broken-bat liner into left to score two more.
By the time Mitch Mueller recorded the final out, Frisco led 6-2. Bowen was charged with four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning and took the loss, falling to 5-3.
The Wind Surge had opportunities to shape the game differently before Frisco’s breakout. Marek Houston and Garrett Spain opened the first with singles, and two strikeouts later, Kyle DeBarge walked to load the bases. Jaime Ferrer drew another walk to force Houston home, but Graham Brown grounded out with the bases still loaded.
Preston Johnson protected that lead through three innings before Frisco strung together three two-out hits in the fourth. Morrobel singled, Kling drove a sharp liner into center for his first Double-A double, and Ian Moller followed with a run-scoring single that put the RoughRiders ahead 2-1.
Brown needed only one pitch to answer. He sent a towering drive toward left-center, the ball carrying well beyond the wall for his fifth home run and a 2-2 tie.
It became Brown’s night even as it slipped away from Wichita. He went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and three RBIs, providing the loudest swing of the middle innings and the hit that gave the Wind Surge life late.
Frisco added a run in the seventh to stretch its lead to 7-2. Mueller allowed one earned run over 2 1/3 innings while striking out four, and Yehizon Sanchez kept the RoughRiders scoreless over the final two innings.
That gave Wichita room for one more push. DeBarge singled with one out in the eighth and Ferrer was hit by a pitch. Brown drove a liner toward the left-center gap, where it dropped and reached the fence as both runners scored. After Poncho Ruiz lined out, Quinn McDaniel shot the first pitch he saw through the middle, bringing Brown home and cutting the deficit to two.
Austin Roberts stopped the rally by striking out Houston, then struck out Spain and Caden Kendle in a scoreless ninth to earn his third save. His four outs were all scoreless, three by strikeout.
The comeback did not change the result, but it fit Giratano’s description of a club that kept finding ways to make its games worth watching.
“We’re a very entertaining team, so you’re going to get your money’s worth every night.”
— Nico Giratano, Wichita Wind Surge Manager
Wichita finished with five runs and eight hits. Frisco had seven runs and 10 hits, with six of those runs packed into the fourth and fifth innings. Kling drove in three with his double and decisive fifth-inning single—the two swings that left the Wind Surge chasing the game the rest of the night.