Salina Falcons Split with Wamego

The Salina Falcons recently suffered from a 10-game losing skid. However, the Falcons bounced back in a big way.

Salina picked up its fifth straight win, taking down Wamego 7-3 in the opener of a doubleheader Wednesday evening at Dean Evans Stadium. The Falcons couldn’t stretch the winning streak to six, falling 9-7 in the nightcap.

Kabe Barber kicked off the scoring in the first with a single to left, bringing in Brycen Mitchell. Neither squad ended the scoring drought until Barber’s second RBI knock of the day, scoring Mason Gary in the fifth.

Salina pulled away with a five-run sixth frame. Gary drove in two with a single to right. Parker Benoit followed with a RBI hit to give Salina a 7-0 advantage.

Jayton Mathis was masterful on the hill for Salina. Mathis went six innings, gave up two hits, two runs, struck out one, and allowed four walks on 75 pitches.

In the nightcap, Wamego jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Salina jumped ahead with five runs in the second. Ethan Bolen followed Nick Clayson’s double with one of his own to get the Falcons on the board.

Wamego miscues led to three Salina runs. Ty Miller and Peyton Jones scored on throwing errors. Bryce Cooper advanced to home on a throwing error, propelling the Falcons to a 5-2 advantage after the second.

Two innings later, Salina had trouble with its pitching command. Wamego plated four runs in the fourth on no hits and one error. Two wild pitches plated two runs for Wamego. Another run came in via a hit batter.

Wamego padded its cushion to 9-5 before moving to the bottom of the sixth. Salina tried to rally, but Wamego kept the Falcons quiet to get the split.

Cooper and Bolen each had two hits for Salina.