Aug 18, 2015 4 min read

The four-day fire sale is over. The door to the clubhouse has stopped revolving. The paperwork has been filed. The roster moves are complete.

The transactions deadline in the Frontier League passed at midnight Monday night and the Wild Things were one of the top sellers, paring two starting pitchers from the roster via trades.

Right-hander Matt Sergey, who last August threw the only perfect game in the Frontier League’s 23-year history, was traded last Friday to Laredo of the American Association for two players to be named. Then only hours before the deadline, Washington sent left-handed pitcher Tim Flight to East Division leader Southern Illinois in exchange for Jon Klein, this year’s PSAC West Division Pitcher of the Year at Mercyhurst, a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a player to be named.

Washington also placed a catcher on the disabled list, released a pitcher who was signed only last week and added two more players to the active roster.

What was left of the Wild Things’ roster took on the Windy City ThunderBolts Tuesday night and an early power surge sent Washington to a 4-2 victory at Consol Energy Park.

Third baseman Sam Mende, who has been with the Wild Things all season, and center fielder Scott Kalamar hit back-top-back home runs in the first inning, and left fielder Andrew Heck hit his first homer of the year with one out in the second inning to give Washington a 4-1 lead.

It was a good night after a flurry of roster moves.

“Every move we made strengthens this organization for this year or next,” Washington manager Bob Bozzuto said.

Bozzuto added that trading Sergey was best for the pitcher’s career and Flight had indicated that he would not play baseball beyond this season. Getting three players for a pitcher who is likely to retire, while giving Flight a chance to play in the postseason, was a win-win scenario, the manager said.

“This is Matt’s third year in the league and he was ready to move on. He wants to get to affiliated ball. Plus, he had been on the disabled list and we had been limiting him.

“Timmy did a nice job for us. What we got for him was huge, Jon Klein being the most important part. Jon Klein had pitched against us and we liked him. He’s pitched an entire college season this year, so his future really begins next year. We see a lot of upside with him. He’s a 6-4 kid who has had some success.”

The trades give Washington five starting pitchers – Klein, Matt Fraudin, Jeremy Holcombe, Luke Wilkins and Ernesto Zaragoza – who are classified as rookies by the Frontier League and will maintain that status next season.

“That’s a good starting spot for us next year,” Bozzuto said. “But in no way do these trades mean we’re not as good this year. We’re a better team because we made them.”

One of those rookie pitchers – Fraudin (2-1) – played a large role against Windy City.

An Upper St. Clair native, Fraudin needed only 66 pitches to get into the seventh inning. He gave up six hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings for his second consecutive win. Fraudin got 10 outs on ground balls, but the biggest out with the rookie on the mound came on a relay throw to third base.

Three batters into the game, Austin Gallagher hit a run-scoring drive to left centerfield that scored Coco Johnson and gave the ThunderBolts a 1-0 lead. Gallagher tried to stretch the double into his first triple of the season but was thrown out with Kalamar tossing to shortstop Austin Wobrock, who fired a strike on the relay to Mende at third base.

After that key out, Fraudin retired 10 of the next 11 Windy City hitters.

“I wasn’t hitting my spots as well as my last game, but I let the team behind me do the work,” Fraudin said.

Mende’s home run to right centerfield off Windy City starter Alex Wright (4-10) scored Matt Ford and gave Washington a 2-1 lead that it would not give up.

Windy City pulled to within 4-2 on Max White’s solo homer leading off the seventh, but reliever Steve Messner replaced Fraudin and threw 1 2/3 hitless innings and closer Jonathan Kountis got the final three outs for his eighth save.

Each of the first eight hits in the game went for extra-bases. … Wright, who played for Class AA Reading in the Philadelphia Phillies’ system last year, threw a 131-pitch complete game and struck out a career-high 11. … Washington signed pitcher Scott Silverstein (6-6, 260), who won 11 games last year in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system, and rookie catcher Eddie Sorondo. Catcher John Fidanza was placed on the disabled list.