Long, soggy night for Wild Things, Beach Bums

The Wild Things were determined not to play a doubleheader today because it would disrupt the schedule for the “Dingers Only” promotion that features former Indianapolis Colts punter and current Barstool Sports Radio personality Pat McAfee playing for Washington.
So the Wild Things and Traverse City Beach Bums waited out the longest rain delay in the Wild Things’ 17-year history Wednesday night before starting the middle game in their three-game series.
The first pitch was thrown at 9:37 p.m., following a rain delay of two hours and 32 minutes. There were fewer than 40 fans left in the ballpark when the game started.
The game did not end in time to be included in this edition.
Pitcher added
Prior to the game, Washington signed rookie relief pitcher James Meeker to bring its roster to the Frontier League limit of 24 players.
Meeker is a Wexford native and North Allegheny High School graduate. He recently concluded his collegiate career at the University of Delaware. A 6-4, 215-pound righthander, Meeker originally went to the University of Akron but the Zips dropped their baseball program after his freshman season. Meeker transferred to Delaware, where he played three years.
A position player for the Blue Hens for one year, Meeker converted to a pitcher as a junior. He accumulated a 10-4 record with 3.59 ERA over two seasons. Meeker struck out 75 batters in 95 innings.
“James performed very well at our workout (Monday), attacking hitters and throwing with conviction,” said Washington assistant general manager Tony Buccilli. “He offers a solid pitch mix and experience in late innings. He is eager to play professionally.”
Meeker was a four-year letterman at North Allegheny and the first freshman to pitch in a game for the Tigers. He threw the only perfect game in NA history during his senior season in 2013 and played on North Allegheny’s WPIAL championship team that year.
Another move?
Washington is expected to make another roster move today. Pitcher Frank Trimarco (4-1, 4.08), who started Sunday at Southern Illinois, has been bothered by a sore knee and is expected to be placed on the disabled list.
Washington has listed Daniel Garmendia (2-3, 5.26) as its starting pitcher for tonight’s series finale against Traverse City.
No June swoon
Washington entered Wednesday with the best record in the league at 23-11 and its hitting gets much of the credit for the team’s success. The Wild Things have a league-leading .289 batting average. Normal is second in team hitting at .271.
The Wild Things have a 13-3 record in June and are hitting .340. They have scored 145 runs in the month, which is more than two teams (Schaumburg and Windy City) have scored all season.
League leaders
Wild Things center fielder James Harris leads the league in multiple statistical categories. He is tops in batting average (.356), stolen bases (13), runs (32), hits (47), total bases (92), triples (7), extra-base hits (24) and is tied for the lead in RBI (34) with teammate Roman Collins.
Harris is a former first-round draft – the last pick of the opening round in 2011 by Tampa Bay. He was selected one pick before the Pittsburgh Pirates chose first baseman Josh Bell with the first pick of the second round.
Washington closer Zach Strecker leads the league in appearances (19) and relief points (3 for a save, 2 for a win and minus-2 for a loss) with 33. Strecker is second in the league in saves with nine behind Evansville’s Mitchell Aker, who has 12. Strecker has not yielded a run in 20 1/3 innings entering Wednesday.