close

Foss throws complete game as Things down Joliet

5 min read
1 / 4

In this file photo, Wild Things’ Hector Roa hits a home run during a game against Joliet at Wild Things Park.

2 / 4

The Wild Things’ Bralin Jackson gets a high five from Justin Bohn after hitting a three-run homer during Friday’s game against Joliet at Wild Things Park.

3 / 4

The Wild Things’ Kyle Reese tags out Joliet’s Melvin Rodriguez then throws to first base for a double play during Friday’s game.

4 / 4

The Wild Things’ Kane Sweeney tags out Joliet’s Danny Zardon at first base Friday at Wild Things Park.

Trevor Foss had done plenty of good things during his season and a half in a Wild Things uniform.

The right-hander had won 13 games for Washington entering Friday night and was named the Frontier League’s Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

But one item that Foss was unable to check off his wish list until Friday was beat the hard-hitting Joliet Slammers.

Foss was winless in three career starts against Joliet, including one early this season, but he brought back memories of last year’s successful season when he quickly disposed of Joliet 6-1 with a complete-game eight-hitter that ended the Slammers’ six-game winning streak.

Washington supported Foss with three home runs, including back-to-back shots by Bralin Jackson and Kane Sweeney in a five-run sixth inning. The Wild Things also turned four double plays.

The game lasted only one hour and 59 minutes, forcing a 15-minute delay to the start of the postgame fireworks show so that darkness could settle over Wild Things Park.

Foss (6-3) needed only 96 pitches to throw the complete game. He was in control throughout as only four times did a Joliet batter work a three-ball count, and two of those came in the ninth inning.

“I looked at my pitch counter in the sixth inning and said is that number right?” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said. “He was at around 60 pitches. That’s how Trevor pitches. He’s not afraid of pitching to contact.”

Even against a Joliet team that had scored 14 runs in 17 career innings against Foss entering Friday.

“Foss is getting better,” Langbehn said. “He’s progressing nicely with each start. He’s getting the ball down in the strike zone, which he had to because Joliet can really swing the bats.”

Foss, who had his ERA drop to 2.82, also senses improvement with each start, which could be bad news for the rest of the Frontier League.

“It all comes down to location,” Foss said. “I didn’t come into this season feeling as good as I did last year. But tonight I felt better than I had all year.”

Joliet starter Tyler House (1-3) matched zeroes with Foss until the fifth inning when designated hitter Hector Roa drilled a solo home run just inside the left-field foul pole to give Washington a 1-0 lead. It was Roa’s second homer in three games.

The Wild Things broke the game open in the sixth, when they scored five runs, each coming with two outs. Rashad Brown started the big inning with a two-out infield single off the glove of Slammers’ first baseman Rock Shoulders, who was once voted as having the best name in professional baseball.

Justin Bohn followed with single and Jackson went the opposite way, hitting a three-run homer just inside the right-field foul pole to make it 4-0. It was Jackson’s team-leading ninth home run of the season.

Sweeney, the Wild Things’ first baseman, followed with a home run off the video board in right field. It was the second time in a week that Jackson and Sweeney hit back-to-back homers that sparked the Wild Things to a victory.

Washington’s final run scored when Roa singled and raced around the bases when Mike Hill’s base hit dropped into center field and bounced high into the air for an old-fashioned, artificial-turf double.

Foss took a shutout into the seventh but it was broken up when Juan Silva, a former Class AAA player in the Cincinnati Reds system, led off with a double to right centerfield and scored two batters later on a single by Melvin Rodriguez, who had two hits.

Foss struck out five and did not issue a walk. He said his formula for success on this night wasn’t very complicated.

“I used my fastball more than I have all year,” Foss said. “That was the closest I’ve been to last year.

“In the first five innings, I think I threw only four offspeed pitches. We felt I could pitch with it. It was going where I wanted. … I was saying during the game that these guys had beaten me every time. They had some hard-hit balls, but most of them were on the ground. The middle infielders really had to work today.”

Washington turned double plays in the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth innings.

The game was played on the night the Frontier League celebrated the anniversary of its first opening day (June 30, 1993), when the league was a commuter circuit in the Ohio Valley and played on high school fields and small city parks. None of the original 14 teams are still in the 25-year-old league, which has advanced more than 1,000 players to major league organizations, including David Forst, who is general manager of the Oakland Athletics. … Prior to the game, Washington placed pitcher Vince Apicella on the retired and activated pitcher Brandon Bixler from the suspended list. Apicella had no record and a 5.40 ERA in eight relief appearances. Bixler pitched in three games for Washington last season. … Each of the four games in the current homestand have been played in two hours and 15 minutes or faster. … The Wild Things outhit Joliet 9-8 and improved their record to 17-0 when they have more hits than the opponent.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today