After what can only be described as a nightmarish road trip, the St. Paul Saints returned to CHS Field looking to get back in the win column against the Wichita Wingnuts. They did that with a 7-0 win that gave Robert Coe his 11th win of the season, second only to Mark Hamburger.

St. Paul scores in the second inning

The Saints got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Nate Hanson led off the inning with a walk. He advanced to second when Vinny Difazio drew a walk, and advanced to third when Tony Caldwell drew the third straight walk of the inning to load the bases for Ryan Cavan, who also drew a walk to put the Saints up 1-0.

After Tanner Vavra struck out, Alonzo Harris hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the second out. Difazio, however, was able to score, as the throw went to third base. Breland Almadova then lined out to the shortstop to end the inning, but the Saints left with a 2-0 lead.

The Saints tacked on another run in the third when Tony Thomas led off with a home run to put St. Paul up 3-0. They tacked on two more in the fourth when Cavan led off with a walk. Cavan advanced to second when Vavra drew a walk, which spelled the end of the night for Wichita pitcher Anthony Capra, who gave way to Jesse Pratt.

Tony Thomas celebrates after his home run. (Betsy Bissen/St. Paul Saints)

The first batter he faced was Harris, who bunted to the pitcher for the first out, as Vavra and Cavan each moved up a base. Cavan scored when Almadova flew out to center field, and Vavra scored when Thomas flew out to put the Saints up 5-0.

Harris made it 6-0 in the sixth when he hit a one-out solo home run to left field. Caldwell also got into the act in the next inning when he also hit a one-out solo home run to make it a 7-0 lead, which is where the lead remained as Coe went eight innings, giving up just six hits and no runs while recording nine strikeouts. Benji Waite came in to pitch the ninth and worked a clean inning, including a strikeout of Martin Medina to end the game.

Quick Hits

- The Saints were very busy before the game, as pitcher Dan Johnson had his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was assigned to their Double-A team in Tulsa. Rookie pitcher Eric Veglahn also had his contract purchased, as the Toronto Blue Jays purchased his contract and sent him to their short-season team.

- There were still roster moves to be made, as they released outfielder Bryson Myles, who was batting .216 with one home run in 37 at bats. They also made a trade with the Sioux Falls Canaries, acquiring left-handed power hitter David Bergin in exchange for two players to be named later.

- The Saints and Wingnuts will play game two of the series on Tuesday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. CT. The Saints will send LHP Corey Williams (1-1, 2,76) to the mound, while the Wingnuts will counter with RHP Alex Boshers (10-3, 3.46). 

Winning Pitcher: Robert Coe (11-2)

Losing Pitcher: Anthony Capra (0-3)

Save: None

Player of the game: Robert Coe (STP). Threw eight innings with no runs and nine strikeouts to pick up his ninth win of the season. 

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]