Bullpen, run in 11th send Wild Things to win

There were several scouts who attended the Wild Things’ game Sunday night against Windy City. They were there to check out starting pitcher Hunter Williams, who next month is likely to become the initial Wild Things player to be selected in baseball’s first-year player draft while still playing for Washington.
If those scouts would have stuck around to the end of the game, then they would have seen the Washington bullpen throw the equivalent of a no-hitter and the Wild Things do something that perhaps no other team has done in the history of professional baseball.
Those two things were key elements in Washington’s 5-4 come-from-behind victory in 11 innings.
The Wild Things salvaged the series finale because its bullpen was outstanding, left fielder Bralin Jackson delivered with a clutch game-tying solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and Kane Sweeney’s sacrifice fly scored Rashad Brown from third base with the winning run in 11th, which was played under international tiebreaker rules and was unusual even by those standards.
“I like to see a good full-team effort like that,” said Sweeney, the Wild Things’ first baseman who was 3-for-3 in the game and reached base in nine of 12 plate appearances during the series.
“We had a couple of guys who did a good job of picking the team up.”
Nobody did a better job of giving the Wild Things a much-needed pick-me-up than relief pitcher Aaron Burns. After Windy City took advantage of wildness by Williams and forged a 4-1 lead, Burns, a rookie out of Texas-San Antonio, threw four shutout innings and helped give Washington a chance to win. Burns was the Wild Things’ first-round draft pick last month at the Frontier League tryout camp in Sauget, Ill.
“When I saw him at the tryout, I loved him,” Wild Things manager Gregg Langbehn said. “I love his stuff, his presence on the mound, his demeanor. I said he would be in our rotation before the season was over, and he’s going to start a game next weekend against Florence. He has the ability to throw four pitches for strikes.”
That was something not many of the 11 pitchers in the game were able to do. They combined to issue 16 walks. Even with all those baserunners, there weren’t many runs.
Washington scored two times in the sixth to close to within 4-3 as Alex Fernadez tripled home Kyle Pollock and scored on a single by Brown.
Windy City still led 4-3 in the ninth when Jackson hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot off the scoreboard beyond left centerfield. The blast came off ThunderBolts closer Brian Loconsole, who pitched all three days of the series.
Meanwhile, Washington’s bullpen of Burns, Vince Apicella and Zach Strecker (1-0) were combining to throw eight no-hit innings. Burns’ four inning and the final three by Strecker were sandwiched around one by Apicella. Windy City finished with only three hits.
“That wasn’t lost on me,” Langbehn said. “The bullpen was very, very good. I’m pleased with how they’re throwing. In eight of nine games they’ve been fantastic, so they can be afforded one hiccup.”
Washington won the game in the 11th, when the international tiebreaker kicked in. That’s the rule that requires each half-inning to start with a runner on second base and no outs. Strecker held Windy City scoreless in the top of the inning and the bottom began with Brown on second base. He advanced to third when Jace Conrad flied out to right field.
Windy City then intentionally walked Mike Hill and Jackson to load the bases. The Frontier League, like the major leagues this year, has gone to intentional walks that do not require teams to throw four wide pitches. Instead, the batter can go directly to first base, which set up an odd situation that might have been a first for pro basebaball: Washington had three baserunners and none was pitched to before getting on base.
Sweeney then ended the game with a long sacrifice fly to center field.
Williams, the 21-year-old rookie out of the University of North Carolina who struck out 10 in a five-inning start last week at Lake Erie, had a rough outing against the ThunderBolts. The lefty walked five of the 18 batters he faced and hit another. Williams left after facing two batters in the fourth inning.
“He had trouble repeating his delivery,” Langbehn said. “He did a better job of it in his first start at Lake Erie. That’s sometimes a tough thing to do for a young pitcher. He does have the ability to compete and do well in this league.”