Written August 17, 2026
Saturday night became the kind of night I could never imagine. On Tuesday, Ellen and I had felt like the only Hooks fans in the stands. On Saturday night, Hooks family members, girlfriends, and buddies surrounded us. Max Holy’s mom, Cara, was there, along with his fiancé, Grace, and her mom, Sue. His cousin Erin was there (claiming he gets his talent from her), and his good friend from high school, Casey, along with his fiancé, Katie. Hudson Leach’s mom, Michelle, sat behind us. Jason Schiavone’s dad, Chris, was also in the stands with us, and, of course, Jim and Joan Cologna, Coach Jeremy’s parents and our texting buddies.
One conversation answered the big question I’ve been asking, and it was posed by the parent of a player to her son. “Are you just trying to finish up the season or do you want to win?”
“We want to win! Double-A is competitive, we’ve had a great season, and we want it to continue.”
This night followed the 1-0 hope-crushing defeat. It proved the fire of a championship remained hidden but present among the coals. The words were there, “We want to win,” and the play on the field validated what was said between a mother and her son.
Walker Janek tripled with two outs in the 1st inning. Our guy Will Bush walked. Already in the opening frame, the Hooks had more walks than in the previous game, one! They wouldn’t score a run, but from the start you knew something was different.
Andrew Taylor walked the first batter he faced then induced a ground ball double play to wipe the bases clean. Caden Kendle lined out to left field. A 1-2-3 inning right off. Wow!
Max Holy walked in the 2nd inning. This was a leadoff walk, the kind of thing I hate to see when we’re pitching. Those leadoff walks have come back to be the difference in a game we’ve lost, so it was wonderful when Alberto Hernandez parked a home run ball in the Wind Surge bullpen to get him and Max home. Corpus Christi 2-Wichita 0. Whoop! Whoop!
Taylor would get a 4 up-3 down 2nd inning and a 1-2-3 3rd inning. He pitched well in his first start after his recent promotion from High-A. Saturday he looked like the solid replacement we needed after our ace Bryce Mayer moved up to Triple-A Sugar Land.
In the 4th inning, the Wind Surge hit three singles in a row, then Jake Rucker hit a 2-run home run to tie up the game, 2-2.
Hold it! What? Three singles, a home run, and only two runs?
Surprised? I was too, but a caught stealing by Walker Janek erased one base runner, and a Chase Call to Max Holy throw caught Garrett Spain at second as he tried to turn his single into a double.
Chase Call has thrown out a runner at home from left field and a runner at second from right field in this series. He definitely has a howitzer for an arm.
After four complete, we were knotted up, 2-2.
In the 5th, I said to Jim Cologna, “I hope Andrew gets through the 5th and we score for him in the top of the 6th. He’s pitched well enough for the win.”
He had a 1-2-3 inning to finish his night on the mound. Part one of the wish completed, now how about the top-of-the-6th scoring?
Single, walk, single started the scoring after Jason Schiavone singled into center field. Walker Janek scored from 2nd. Will Bush advanced to 3rd and scored on a wild pitch. Corpus Christi 4-Wichita 2.
Max Holy had a productive at bat as Jason advanced to 3rd on his groundout. Alberto Hernandez added his third RBI on a single to left field. Corpus Christi 5-Wichita 2.
Things got wild at this point. Hit by pitch, walk, walk, and Walker Janek’s single added up to three more runs. Corpus Christi 8-Wichita 2. Personal anxiety level hovering around 1 as opposed to the typical 8-10 from the 6th inning on. I felt downright giddy.
A Wind Surge fan sitting behind our Hooks’ cluster could be heard grumbling. That guy had been me over the last three games.
The Hooks added two more runs in the 8th inning, and the Wind Surge responded with a four-run inning. Their scoring almost raised the anxiety level to worrisome, but Amilcar Chirinos entered in relief to record the final out. He’d give up a single in the 9th but nothing more and record his 8th save of the season. Final score: Corpus Christi 10-Wichita 6.
I’m in our room this Sunday morning. We’ll be checking out of the hotel soon. I woke up to our two team buses parked in front of the hotel. They hadn’t moved during the week, but now the team is preparing for the overnight journey home. We have a 1:05 PM start, so everyone is on a different schedule. I don’t know how that will affect the play on the field, but I know it will to some degree.
On the road has been a blessed experience for Ellen and me. The downstairs lobby has been the place to talk with our friends Jim and Joan Cologna while seeing the players file in after games. I’ve spoken with an umpire and his parents, a coach, several players, the bus drivers, and several staff in the hotel lobby. Few moments in my baseball travels can match this week’s experiences.
When I next write, I’ll be home.
Monday, August 17:
When I come into a ballpark, I arrive early and walk around the entire stadium if possible. I kept that tradition at Equity Bank Park, and by the end of the 6-game series, I had met a lot of folks and added a few more stories.
I added Greg Clark to my list of new friends when I asked if I could borrow his grandson for catch. Instead of a throwing partner, I received a short history lesson about how he met Frank Evans, a contemporary of Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, and Buck O’Neil during the days of the Negro Leagues. Mr. Evans was the catcher for Satchel Paige when they played, as well as a pitcher himself. He became a beloved part of Wichita’s rich baseball history.
On my last day in Wichita, Brandon Tammany, an account executive for the Wind Surge, asked if I would like a tour of the stadium. I had been all over the stadium during the week, so I had to ask, “Where will you take me?”
He pointed upstairs where the suites, the radio/tv coverage, the stat keepers, and the Vault, whatever that was, were. That was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Halfway through the afternoon game, he found me in my seat and we headed upstairs.
During a commercial break, I visited with Tim Grubbs, the voice of the Wind Surge, and Michael Coffin, the voice of the Hooks. Each sat alone in an enclosed cubicle when they were on air, which surprised me. From watching the announcers on TV, I expected the atmosphere to be more open and collegial. Tim and Michael have crossed paths every year since the Wind Surge joined the Texas League.
Madison Johnson, the marketing director, and I talked during one of my walkarounds about how affordable a minor league game is for a family. She told me something amazing that I later confirmed with the Director of Ticket Sales Adam Mettler.
For $199, a family of four can attend all 69 Wind Surge home games during a season. The more games you attend, the less expensive each ticket becomes. If you attend every home game, the cost is $2.88 per game. That’s less than $3 for a family to get through the gate and watch a Double-A game. I’m curious as to how many families have taken advantage of that deal this summer.
Sunday’s game started in the early afternoon, and, with the wind blowing out of the north, the temperature was pleasantly comfortable.
The Hooks didn’t score in the top of the 1st inning, but they made contact in every at bat. Walker Janek singled with two out.
In the bottom of the inning, the Wind Surge had two singles, yet James Hicks pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Marek Houston led off with a single, then Jason Schiavone fired a strike to 2nd baseman Alejandro Nunez to catch him stealing.
Andrew Cossetti popped out then Caden Kendle singled to left field only to be thrown out by left fielder Trevor Austin as he tried to turn the hit into a double. After Trevor told me he played left field in college on Friday, he proved he was still pretty darn good at it on Sunday.
In the 2nd inning, the Hooks went down 1-2-3, but, again, they put the ball in play each time. It felt like those groundouts would turn into hits soon enough. I was certainly hopeful.
Things got interesting in the bottom half of the 2nd. Garrett Spain singled and stole second. Jake Rucker grounded out without advancing the runner. That was a very hopeful sign.
When the first base umpire signaled no swing on what would have been strike three, the Hooks infield displayed in loud words and kick-the-dirt actions that they disagreed. I shot up out of my seat and yelled as well. Our manager Ricky Rivera blasted out of the dugout, and within his first two steps saw the base umpire signal, “You’re outta here!”
Ellen noticed what our players had done and suggested that Ricky took the umpire’s wrath for the team. He received the ejection to prevent the loss of someone on the field. That seemed to ring true. It also cost him $1000 with the parent club to do so.
The Wind Surge would get on the scoreboard first in the 2nd inning then add to their lead in the third inning. After 3 complete, Wichita 2-Corpus Christi 0.
Sometimes you don’t have to see a play in order to know its end result. I had a standing-room-only ticket to the 2022 World Series, Game 1, and watched the game through the shoulders of the six-footers in front of me. I could see the pitcher or I could see the batter, but I couldn’t see both. During the game, I saw Jose Altuve swing and heard the crack of the bat, but only when the crowd roared did I know that he had gotten a hit.
Returning to my seat during a Wind Surge at bat, I heard the crack of the bat, the crowd on the verge of erupting, and a sudden disappointed communal groan. I didn’t know the details, but I knew the Wichita batter had failed to reach base.
The hometown crowd would have more to groan about in the top of the 4th inning. Our guy Will Bush singled up the middle with two outs. Jason Schiavone followed with a 2-run dinger over the right field bleachers. On that high note, Jason’s dad Chris Schiavone had to leave for the airport to fly home.
After 33 games without a home run, his last being June 23 at Tulsa’s ONEOK Field, Jason broke his long-ball drought and tied up the game, 2-2.
With two on and two out in the 5th inning, Trevor Austin blasted a shot over the visitors’ bullpen to put us up, 5-2. I’m sure our pitchers loved the view of that one.
The bullpen would take over the rest of the game in the bottom of the 5th and not give up a hit over the remaining five innings. Alex Santos II and Jose Guedez pitched the 5th, 6th, and 7th scoreless innings, then Nic Swanson finished the game, recording two 1-2-3 innings in the 8th and 9th.
Nic had had a terrible outing Thursday night in relief, but he had little time to prepare after Brett Gillis left the game with an injury in the first inning. This time Nic pitched an exceptional two innings and looked like the guy I expected to see on the mound.
Some reasons to have hope despite a 3-3 split with Wichita:
First of all, the guys appear to be having fun again.
On Saturday night a mysterious sumo figurine appeared on the front rail of the dugout. Ellen hadn’t seen it that night, so we were both curious to know if it would reappear Sunday afternoon.
Our guy Will Bush had poached the figurine out of Marcus Brown’s locker and placed it on the rail. The team won, so I assumed it would show up on Sunday afternoon. It did. A sense of playfulness has returned to the locker room.
Second, our previous power outage has turned into a power surge.
Trevor Austin continues to hit home runs and leads the team in that category.
Our guy Will Bush ended his home run drought on Tuesday night and Jason on Sunday afternoon.
Third, we have a solid starting rotation and a dependable bullpen. We had three losses in the Wichita series. Two of them included extenuating circumstances. Thursday an early injury handed the mound over to the bullpen in the first inning. They gave up 4 runs in the first two innings and we lost 5-1. The Friday night loss needed a single hit to turn a 1-0 loss into a 2-1 victory. We did not get that single hit.
Fourth, the pitching and solid defense have kept us close in games. One of the smartest defensive plays I’ve seen this season happened Sunday afternoon in the bottom of the 8th.
Garrett Spain hit a grounder to our guy Will Bush with a runner on first. Typically, Will would step on first base then fire to second for a force-’em-out-tag-’em-out double play. The team has done this several times throughout the season.
The smart, smart play happened because Will noticed that Garrett took a step, slumped, and stopped running. Will fired to shortstop Marcus Brown, who stepped on second and returned the ball to Will at first. Will had the biggest grin heading into the dugout. Did I say they were having fun already?
Fifth, they want to win!
The South Division is still clumped together with Corpus Christi a game out of first place. We continue to have those 3-3 series splits, a trend we can’t keep up and make the playoffs. The three series that matter most happen over the next four weeks—Midland at home, Amarillo away, and Midland away.
The playoff race in the 2nd half of the season is like almost every Hooks game—close, very close.
Let’s go, Hooks!
Corpus Christi Hooks 3-Wichita Wind Surge 2 W
Corpus Christi Hooks 3-Wichita Wind Surge 9 L
Corpus Christi Hooks 1-Wichita Wind Surge 5 L
Corpus Christi Hooks 0-Wichita Wind Surge 1 L
Corpus Christi Hooks 10-Wichita Wind Surge 6 W
Corpus Christi Hooks 5-Wichita Wind Surge 2 W
Texas League South 2nd-half standings
Amarillo 24-21
Frisco 24-21
Corpus Christi 23-22
Midland 22-23
San Antonio 20-25
Baseball, Bikes, Birds and the Bible 
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