Jun 7, 2015 4 min read

The momentum from the Wild Things’ scintillating performance Saturday night lasted all of about three innings Sunday.

That’s how long it took for Traverse City to start hitting balls over walls and send Washington to an 8-3 defeat, less than 24 hours after the Wild Things dismantled the Beach Bums, 11-0.

Washington had an opportunity to win a home series for the first time this season, but this finale looked a lot like Friday night’s opener when Traverse City, boosted by a three-run Reggie Lawson home run, put the Wild Things in a big hole in the early innings.

Lawson, who probably didn’t want the Beach Bums (11-9) to leave Washington, struck again, hitting a grand slam in the third inning off Wild Things starter Luke Wilkins (1-1). The blast to left field gave Traverse City a 6-1 lead.

“I’m disappointed that we had a slow start, especially after (Saturday) night,” Washington manager Bob Bozzuto said. “Down 6-1 after 2½ innings is tough.”

Lawson, the Beach Bums’ right fielder, had seven RBI in the series and four home runs on Traverse City’s nine-game road trip that ended with a 6-3 record. Not bad for a guy hitting all the way down in the No. 6 spot in the batting order.

“That’s a compliment to the first five guys in our lineup,” Traverse City manager Dan Rohn said. “Reggie is a rare bird in that he has power, he has strength, he has speed and he has a great arm in the outfield. He’s a complete player.”

Wilkins, a native of Australia, was pitching on only three days of rest after giving up only one run over six innings during Wednesday’s doubleheader against Rockford. This time, he lasted only three innings, giving up seven hits and six runs.

“That’s one of the things doubleheaders do to your pitching staff,” Bozzuto said. “They’re not so bad when you can extend your rotation by putting a bullpen guy in there, but we don’t have that luxury. Luke wasn’t as sharp on three days rest as he was on five days. He didn’t have that pinpoint control.”

Brandon Jacobs, the Beach Bums’ left fielder, hit a two-run homer off Washington reliever Joe Iorio in the fifth that extended Traverse City’s lead to 8-1. Jacobs also had a sacrifice fly in Traverse City’s two-run first inning.

The early five-run lead was enough for Traverse City starting pitcher Mike Shreves (2-0), who worked into the sixth inning. The Beach Bums already played five doubleheaders and have gone to a six-man pitching rotation, moving Shreves from the bullpen to fill a starter’s role.

“We’ve had to use six starters. And let’s face it, in this league your finish is determined by pitching,” Rohn said. “You’re only as good as your starting pitching and, with the exception of Saturday, we’ve been getting good starting pitching.”

The Wild Things had plenty of opportunities against Shreves and two relievers. They left at least one runner on base in every inning and stranded 11 in the game. All they could show for it was single runs in three different innings.

David Popkins, who raised his batting average 85 points over the last eight games, tripled to the wall in center field in the first inning and scored on a C.J. Beatty single. Beatty doubled, stole third base and scored on a groundout by Lee Orr in the sixth. Sam Mende hit a solo homer in the eighth.

The Wild Things (9-12) loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth but did not score as they lost their fourth consecutive home series.

“Consistency. That’s what we’re missing,” Bozzuto said. “We haven’t put it all together, both hitting and pitching. We’re starting to swing the bats, but we haven’t been consistent.

“It takes 10 games to see what you have, and we had some issues early, but we’re only three games under .500. We’ll go on the road and hopefully make some noise. There’s no quit in this team.”

The Wild Things begin a six-game road trip Tuesday at Joliet. They will play a weekend series at Lake Erie. … Lawson’s grand slam was the first hit by a Traverse City player since Chase Burch against Washington Aug. 29, 2013. … After his first-inning triple, Popkins walked in each of his final four plate appearances. … Orr hit two doubles. … The Wild Things had eight hits, six of which were for extra bases.