Jul 21, 2015 4 min read

This should give you an idea of what kind of Tuesday night the Wild Things had against Lake Erie:

Crushers third baseman Anderson Hildalgo made two of the game’s first three outs.

Hildalgo is the No. 4 hitter in Lake Erie’s lineup.

In other words, it was a very long night for the home team.

Lake Erie, the last-place team in the Frontier League’s East Division, sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the top of the first inning, batted around in two of the first three innings and pummeled the Wild Things 17-3 in the opener of a three-game series at Consol Energy Park.

The game had a benches-clearing incident in the top of the sixth inning after Crushers catcher Joel Barraza struck out. No punches were thrown and no players were ejected but both teams received a warning from home plate umpire Michael Shields.

It will go down as one of the most forgettable games in the Wild Things’ 14-year history.

Just how bad was it? Try these numbers:

• The 17 runs is the second-most given up in a game by the Wild Things and the most since a 22-7 home loss to Windy City, Aug. 9, 2008.

• Lake Erie started the game by hitting three consecutive doubles and scored eight runs in the first inning.

• Washington starter Ernesto Zaragoza (5-4) got only one out and gave up seven earned runs. Reliever Tyler Ferguson, who had not given up a run all year, was charged with 10 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

• Lake Erie rookie right fielder Chandler Brock, who began the night with only one double and two RBI in 15 games, hit two doubles and drove in four runs during the first inning.

• The Crushers led 17-0 after three innings.

Washington manager Bob Bozzuto, borrowing a page from the Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, said this is one game his players need to wash off and forget.

“It only counts as one loss,” Bozzuto said. “You forget about it and come back tomorrow and it might be a 1-0 game. When you play 96 games, you’re going to have one of these. Every team has one. They’re not fun, for sure.”

Washington scored two runs in the fifth inning when shortstop Austin Wobrock hit a solo home run to right field and Andrew Heck scored from second base on a single by Sam Mende. Wobrock doubled and scored on a single by Matt Peters in the seventh.

Lake Erie starter Hunter Adkins (3-4) struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings.

“If we’re going to get back in the playoff race, then we’re going to have starts like Hunter gave us,” Lake Erie manager Chris Mongiardo said. “He’s one of the better pitchers in the league.”

Brock led the Crushers at the plate, going 3-for-6 with six RBI. Former Pitt outfielder Boo Vazquez, who was signed last week by the Crushers, was 3-for-5 with three RBI, a double and triple.

“He’s hitting doubles, for sure,” Mongiardo said of Vazquez. “He plays with an energy. I missed on a couple of guys earlier in the season, so it’s good to see him come in swinging the bat well.”

Bozzuto said the benches-clearing incident was triggered by Barraza taking exception to the Wild Things’ Andrew Heck stealing second base while trailing 17-1 in the fifth inning. After striking out to start the sixth inning, Barraza ran to first base when the ball eluded catcher Maxx Garrett, who threw to first baseman Lee Orr to complete the out. Something was then said to Barraza, which caused the benches to empty but order was quickly restored.

The season is over for Wild Things outfielder C.J. Beatty, who was placed on the 60-day disabled list Tuesday with quad muscle and hand injuries. Beatty was batting .259 with 20 RBI in 45 games. He hit a two-run homer Sunday against Normal, only his second home run of the season after hitting 16 in each of his first two years in Washington. Betty said it was his decision to leave the team and return home to North Carolina. Bozzuto said he thought Beatty will have hand surgery. … Orr was activated from the DL to fill the roster spot. … Lake Erie signed Monongahela resident Brendan Costantino. A rookie infielder out of Seton Hill University, Costantino was signed July 17 and made his pro debut as a defensive replacement in the fifth inning. He was 0-for-2 and his first at-bat came immediately after the benches-clearing incident ended. Costantino played his high school ball at Geibel Catholic and then put together four seasons at Seton Hill in which he hit .300 or better. As a sophomore in 2012, Costantino batted .370 and stole 35 bases. … Washington relievers Jason Ziegler and Tim Giel combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings.