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Wild Things hold on, win Game 1

By Chris Dugan 5 min read
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Washington's Ethan Wilder (right) celebrates his fourth inning two-run homer with catcher Ricardo Sanchez (2) in the first game of the Frontier League championship series against Quebec at Wild Things Park on September 10.
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In a close call, Washington's Jalen Miller is out at home with a just-in-time tag from Quebec catcher Ruben Castro in the sixth inning of the Frontier League championship series game at Wild Things Park on September 10.
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Washington's Ethan Wilder (19) connects for a sacrifice fly that drives in teammate Jalen Miller from third base to tie the Quebec Capitales in the second inning of the Frontier League championship series game one at Wild Things Park on September 10.
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Washington's Kobe Foster works against the Quebec Capitales in the first game of the Frontier League championship series at Wild Things Park on September 10.

The Wild Things owe a considerable amount of their success this season to some impressive power hitting as they led the Frontier League in home runs.

It took shortstop Ethan Wilder some time to get into the act.

Wilder, who hit only one home run in 228 at-bats during the regular season, hit a key homer and drove in two runs Tuesday night, powering Washington to a 5-2 victory over Quebec in Game 1 of the best-of-5 league championship series.

Game 2 is tonight (6:05) at Wild Things Park.

Washington scored single runs in five consecutive innings – the second through the sixth – and then had to survive some uncharacteristic shaky relief pitching as Quebec stranded seven baserunners over the final three innings. None of the seven runners reached base by hit. There were six walks and an error. Closer Gyeongju Kim tossed a scoreless ninth inning and stranded two runners to secure the win.

“It was a lot harder than it should have been,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “Too many walks, which has not been a staple of our bullpen. We have some things to get cleaned up.”

Christian James stranded two baserunners in the seventh by striking out Kyle Crowl, the Capitales’ No. 3 hitter. Alex Carillo left the bases loaded in the eighth.

Vaeth said the wildness by his relief pitchers might have been because of a lack of work over the past week.

“It might have been because of rust and probably a lot of nerves and amped-up energy,” Vaeth said. ”

After Washington starter Kobe Foster (2-0), with the help of a pickoff at first base, retired Quebec on eight pitches in the first inning, the Capitales scored the game’s first run in the second. All-league outfielder Justin Gideon hit a leadoff home run down the left-field line to make it 1-0. Gideon hit 20 home runs during the regular season. It was his third in four postseason games.

It was the first run Washington allowed in three playoff games.

Washington made it 1-1 in the bottom of the second. Jalen Miller led off with a line-drive single off Quebec starter Ryan Sandberg, stole second base, moved to third when Brandon McIlwain grounded out and scored on a deep sacrifice fly to center field by Wilder.

The Wild Things forged a 2-1 lead in the third and received some help from both the Capitales and the twilight conditions.

With one out, Tommy Caufield hit a towering popup on the left side of the infield, near the second base bag. Crowl, Quebec’s shortstop, never located the ball in the sky. Third baseman Jake MacKenzie raced over and tried to make a lunging catch but the ball glanced off the end of his glove. Caufield, sprinting out of the batter’s box, hustled into second base for a double that traveled less than 150 feet.

Sandberg then tried to pick Caufield off second but nobody covered the base. His throw sailed into cente rfield and Caufield advanced to third. One out later, Wagner Lagrange slapped an RBI single up the middle.

Wilder made it 3-1 with a solo home run in the fourth. Wilder went the opposite way with a Sandberg pitch and drove it over the wall in right field, at the video board.

“He is a line-drive hitter but he has shown the ability to stay on pitches and drive them,” Vaeth said of Wilder. “That’s what we liked when we brought him in here, and what he used to work his way into the lineup.”

Caufield’s hustle again led to a Washington run in the fifth. He hit a deep one-out fly ball into the right-field corner. Gideon, the Capitales’ right fielder, tried to make a sliding catch on the warning track, at the foul line, but the ball glanced off his glove. Caufield motored into third base with a triple. He scored on a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field by Tyreque Reed.

The Capitales got one of the runs back in the sixth when Crowl homered down the left-field line, almost in the same spot as Gideon.

Foster went six innings, allowing four hits and two runs. He walked two, hit two batters and struck out five.

Washington scored for the fifth consecutive inning, in the sixth, when Ricardo Sanchez hit an RBI two-out-single that scored McIlwain to make it 5-2. Sanchez’s hit came one batter after Jalen Miller was thrown out at home plate trying to score on a ground ball to third base.

Extra bases

Washington’s Caleb McNeely, the league’s MVP, left the game in the eighth inning and went to the clubhouse. Vaeth said McNeeley had “some tightness” and will be re-evaluated before Game 2. … Sandberg’s sister, Kristyn, was catcher for the Pennsylvania Rebellion professional softball team that played its home games at Wild Things Park from 2014 to 2016 as a member of the National Pro Fastpitch league. … Washington had five stolen bases, including three by Miller. … Quebec reliever Ruben Ramirez pitched the sixth and seventh innings. Ramirez played his college baseball in Pittsburgh for Point Park.

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