Sioux Falls Canaries Drop Ninth Straight Game in 9-3 Loss to Wichita

The Sioux Falls Canaries fell to the Wichita Wingnuts 9-3 on Monday night, swelling their losing streak to a season-high nine games.

Sioux Falls starter Shawn Blackwell struggled mightily in his outing, throwing five full innings, giving up nine runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out two. His worst inning came in the fourth, where he faced 11 batters and gave up six runs.

The Canaries actually took the lead early in the first inning. Darwin Perez reached on a one-out single, and David Bergin walked to put runners at first and second. Jake Taylor continued his red-hot pace, roping a RBI single to left to score Perez from second. Ozney Guillen then hit a booming double off the wall in left, allowing Bergin and Taylor to score to put the Birds up early 3-0.

The Canaries watched their lead evaporate quickly. Blackwell sat the first to batters down in order, but struggled to find the third out. Brent Clevlen singled, then advanced to second on a T.J. Mittelstaedt walk. Matt Chavez squared up a Blackwell offering and sent it over the scoreboard in left to tie the game at three.

Both offenses went quite for the next two and a half innings, as Blackwell and Wichita starter Todd Kibby matched each other stride for stride. Then the bottom of the fourth happened. The Wingnuts put up a six-spot in the inning, including a two-run moonshot from Brent Dean to let Wichita retake the lead at 5-3. A string of walks, singles, and a sacrifice fly would tack on four more runs in the inning, blowing the game wide open at 9-3.

Both offenses went silent for the rest of the game, as both bullpens tossed shutout innings. Josh Ferrell, Lance Fairchild, and Billy Waltrip combined for three shutout innings for the Canaries, and Jesse Pratt and Frankie Reed also pitched three shutout innings of their own for Wichita.

The Birds return to The Birdcage on Tuesday for a short three-game home stand against their North Division rival Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Tuesday night is NAVY NIGHT at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Navy Rock Band “HORIZON” will play a special pre-game show with other musical guests throughout the night. Contact the Canaries ticket office for information regarding single game or season ticket options by calling 605-336-6060 or visit the website at www.sfcanaries.com for more information.