WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Wingnuts defeated the Saltdogs 8-3 Saturday night to complete the sweep and win the 2014 American Association Championship in front of 2,528 fans at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Saturday night.
Lincoln jumped out to a 3-0 lead – their first of the three-game series – by the middle of the second inning, highlighted by a second-inning lead-off homer from Brandon Pinckney.
Wichita tallied a run in the second on a two-out bunt single, and plated three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth to assume a 4-3 lead.
The Nuts then scored a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to make it 7-3, before adding a final tally in eighth.
Jason Van Skike (2-0) pitched five innings, allowing three runs to earn the victory. Joe Bisenius (1-2) lasted six innings, yielding seven runs – four earned – on seven hits to suffer the loss.
Pinckney, the 32-year old in his final professional game, went 3-for-3 with a home run and a walk.
Lincoln’s successful 2014 run comes to an end after a Central Division Championship, a comeback division-series win over Winnipeg, and its second Championship Series appearance.
In its third consecutive title-round appearance, Wichita wins its first league championship, and the first baseball championship for the city since 1999 (Wichita Wranglers).