AirHogs Begin Playoffs Thursday at QuikTrip
It took until the final game of the season, but the Grand Prairie AirHogs finally have their first-round opponent for the 2011 American Association Playoffs – the Central Division champion Wichita Wingnuts.
Game 1 of the best-of-five series is at QuikTrip Park on Thursday, September 1, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Righty Jason Jennings will take the hill for the AirHogs against righty Junior Guerra for Wichita.
Jennings was brilliant in his only start against the Wingnuts this season, throwing seven shutout innings at QuikTrip Park on July 17 – his 33rd birthday – to help the AirHogs beat Wichita 4-0 in the finale of the teams’ only regular-season meeting.
The former Major Leaguer, who won the league’s Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the season, went 10-2 for the AirHogs in 2011, with a 3.59 ERA in 19 starts.
Guerra did not face the AirHogs this season, but he also had a very successful season. The righty from San Felix, Venezuela, was 9-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 20 starts, peaking with 7 1/3 no-hit innings against Shreveport-Bossier on July 13 – starting a no-hitter finished off by his bullpen.
In the series that the two teams played during the regular season, Wichita took the opener behind Game 3 starter Ryan Hinson, beating Lance Janke and the AirHogs 5-0. Grand Prairie took the middle game 6-3 with AirHogs Game 4 starter John Brownell getting the win, before Jennings beat Wichita’s Game 2 starter, Derek Blacksher, in the rubber match.
Blacksher also beat the AirHogs when he was a member of the Fort Worth Cats, holding the AirHogs to one run on four hits in eight innings, with a walk and 10 strikeouts at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth on June 13.
His opponent in Game 2, which is Friday at QuikTrip Park, is Tim Brown, acquired from the Lincoln Saltdogs in August. Brown faced Wichita twice while a member of the Saltdogs, beating them on both occasions, at Haymarket Park in Lincoln on May 28 and on July 7 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita.
Offensively, the AirHogs finished the year hitting .297, with 64 home runs and 6.06 runs per game, stealing 125 bases in 147 attempts and hitting into 94 double plays. The Wingnuts led the American Association with a .311 average, hit 76 longballs and averaged 6.23 runs per contest. They stole 91 of 133 bases successfully and rapped into 129 twin killings.
Thursday night at QuikTrip Park will be a usual Thirsty Thursday promotion, with 16-ounce beers selling for just $2. Also, to honor the LSU-Oregon game at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, all LSU and Oregon fans wearing theirs school’s gear can get tickets for either of the two games for $5. Fans can also get $5 tickets by picking up a voucher at select area locations and exchanging them at QuikTrip Park’s box office.
The AirHogs also thank their playoff sponsors, headlined by Texas Trust, the City of Grand Prairie, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Grand Bank of Texas and UT Southwestern Medical Center.
2011 American Association Division Series schedule:
GAME 1: Wichita (Guerra: 9-3, 3.57) at Grand Prairie (Jennings: 10-2, 3.59), Thursday, September 1, 7:05 p.m.
GAME 2: Wichita (Blacksher: 8-9, 3.31) at Grand Prairie (Brown: 9-6, 2.92), Friday, September 2, 7:05 p.m.
GAME 3: Grand Prairie (Rainwater: 14-6, 4.41) at Wichita (Hinson: 11-5, 3.35), Saturday, September 3, 7:05 p.m.
GAME 4: Grand Prairie (Brownell: 11-5, 3.56) at Wichita (Singleton: 11-2, 3.57), Sunday, September 4, 5:05 p.m.*
GAME 5: Grand Prairie (TBA) at Wichita (TBA), Monday, September 5, 7:05 p.m.*
*If necessary
