Aug 4, 2013 4 min read

The rollercoaster was quickly reaching its nadir, a loss an apparent formality in an up-and-down season for the Wild Things, when C.J. Beatty came to the plate, and Quincy Latimore walked to the on-deck circle with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Beatty managed to keep Washington’s fleeting hopes alive with a sharp, two-out single through the right side of the infield.

Then, Latimore stepped to the plate and swung at a high fastball on an 0-2 pitch from Frontier League Greys relief pitcher Bryce Shafer, and just like that the rollercoaster went back to the top. Latimore’s three-run, walkoff homer sent the Wild Things to a 6-5 victory in the first game of doubleheader Sunday.

Washington went on to win the nightcap, 7-2, and sweep the three-game series.

The thrilling blast to left field by Latimore was a no-doubter. As soon as it left the bat, Shafer turned and glanced at the ball sailing high over the left-field wall and started trudging off the field. Latimore, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates who recently joined the Wild Things, raced around the bases, throwing off his batting helmet between third base and home plate before meeting his teammates, who rushed from the dugout and bullpen to greet him.

“Nobody was more surprised than me to see a fastball on 0-2,” Latimore said. “I wouldn’t say I was sitting on a breaking ball, but I had just chased one out of the strike zone on the previous pitch. I was just hoping to see the ball, and fortunately he threw one up in my face.”

Latimore turned on the pitch from the Greys’ closer and turned the game from a likely loss into a wild victory. Could it also be a swing that turns around the Wild Things’ season? The sweep moved Washington to 33-35 and into fourth place in the East Division. They are five games back in the wild-card playoff race with 28 games remaining, and playoff pushes have started with less than a walkoff homer.

“I don’t know anything about that,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said. “It’s still too early to talk about that stuff.”

What the Wild Things did want to talk about was the hitting of Latimore and Beatty, who were summer league teammates as teenagers in North Carolina. During the series against the Greys – the Frontier League’s travel team – Latimore and Beatty played a game of Can You Top This? Each hit two solo home runs in Washington’s win Saturday night. On Sunday, Beatty hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning of the opener that pulled the Wild Things to within 4-3. Latimore then topped Beatty with his game-winner.

“It seems like we’re playing a game of H-O-R-S-E,” Beatty said. “When he does something, I have to try to do something better.”

Latimore’s home run, his fourth in 13 games since joining the Wild Things, made a winner of reliever Matt Phillips (3-2), who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Gary Lee.

The Greys had what seemed like a safe, 5-3 advantage when they went to their bullpen. Starter Jonathan Kountis, the league’s top reliever last year while playing for Lake Erie, had allowed two hits, including Beatty’s homer, over five innings. Reliever Ryan Woolley threw a scoreless sixth inning and turned the game over to Shafer, the Greys’ closer.

Shafer walked Scott Kalmar to start the inning, then retired the next two hitters, which sent Beatty to the plate to extend the game. Latimore then sent the Greys to their 14th one-run loss.

“That was a wonderful way to win the first game of a doubleheader,” Zeller said, “and we came out smoking in the second game.”

Washington got everyone into the act in the nightcap. Stewart Ijames and A.J. Nunziato each had two hits and two RBI, and starting pitcher Dan Goldstein, a rookie out of Bucknell University, got his first professional win by allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings.

The Wild Things forged a 7-1 lead after three innings against the Greys, who last week won a series over East leader Traverse City.

Because of the scheduled Sunday doubleheader, Washington has a rare two-day break in its schedule before opening a home series Wednesday against Joliet.

“We took care of business. We didn’t take the Greys lightly. … The two days off couldn’t come at a better time because we have some guys banged up,” Zeller said.