Player of the Day: Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals

The Cardinal Chronicle
Player of the Day: Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Miguel Ugueto earns The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day honors after delivering the biggest swing of the day in the Cardinals’ farm system.

Ugueto launched a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday, capping Springfield’s second walk-off win of the day against Wichita. It was his fourth home run of the season, and it came at the perfect time.

Springfield trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth in the nightcap. That usually means a quiet finish, a quick handshake line, and everybody heading home. Not this time.

The Cardinals mounted a five-run rally on five hits, putting themselves back in position to steal a game that looked nearly gone. Then Ugueto finished it, sending a three-run shot over the Route 66 Stadium manual scoreboard to give Springfield a 6-5 win.

That is not just a good moment. That is the kind of swing that changes the whole feel of a clubhouse.

Springfield had already walked off Wichita earlier in the day after completing Saturday’s suspended game. To win twice in walk-off fashion on the same Sunday is rare enough. To have the second one end on a three-run homer in the ninth makes Ugueto’s moment impossible to ignore.

Palm Beach’s Facundo Velásquez had a strong case after hitting a grand slam that flipped the game during an eight-run eighth inning. César Prieto also deserves mention after delivering a ninth-inning go-ahead home run for Memphis. Both were big-time swings.

But Ugueto gets the headline.

Down four runs in the ninth, second walk-off of the day, three-run homer over the scoreboard. That is Player of the Day material.

The Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals
Three-run walk-off home run

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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Photo Credit: Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals | MilB | PJ Maigi