Wild Things gain split, win another series
The Wild Things have passed the quarter pole of the Frontier League season, so it’s time to see what the numbers tell us about this team.
Washington split a doubleheader Sunday against Florence, losing the completion of a suspended game 4-1 before bouncing back to win the nightcap, 8-4, as eight different Wild Things had an RBI. Washington won two of the three games in the set, and the Wild Things have won eight of nine series. They have an 18-9 record, which is good for first place in the Central Division.
How the Wild Things have gotten to this point is interesting. They have the lowest team ERA in the league by a wide margin and entered Sunday with the lowest batting average. That means when they score more than one run they usually win, which was proven against Florence.
The game Saturday night was suspended because of rain in the bottom of the sixth inning with Florence holding a 1-0 lead. The Y’alls had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth when Hank Zeisler hit a two-out, opposite-field homer to left centerfield.
In the bottom of the sixth, Florence retired the first two Washington hitters and the third, Antonio Monroy, had a 1-1 count on him when the players were called off the field by the umpires as heavy rain hit EQT Park. The Y’alls needed only one more out for the game to become official, but the weather didn’t allow that to happen.
When play resumed Sunday, Florence jumped on Washington reliever Michael O’Hanlon, who was making his Wild Things debut after being acquired in a trade with Ottawa. O’Hanlon gave up a double to Marcus Brodil to start the seventh, Garrett Broussard followed with a single and Milo Rishford hit his first professional homer, a three-run shot that made it 4-0.
Washington avoided the shutout when Anthony Brocato hit his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh.
The first five innings Saturday night were a pitchers’ duel between Washington starter Hector Garcia and Florence lefty Evan Webster. Garcia allowed only four hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out eight. Washington had only two hits off Webster, who also did not issue a walk. He struck out one.
In the second game, Washington forged an early 5-0 lead before Florence pulled to within a run in the fifth, which included a three-run homer by Brendon Bobo on the first pitch by reliever Jack Brodsky. The Wild Things answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a bases-loaded walk by Antonio Monroy, an RBI single by Brocato and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Andrew Czech.
The RBI by Czech gave him a team-record 316, one more than Hector Roa had in his career.
Washington starter Colton Anderson (1-1) was credited with his first victory, working into the fifth. Brodsky and Landon Ginn finished the game with the latter pitching the final two innings with three strikeouts.
Extra bases
When the Morgan Wallen concert Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium was cancelled, the Wild Things took to social media and offered anyone with a ticket to the concert a free ticket to the Washington-Florence game that night. The promotion attracted 168 would-be concert goers to EQT Park. … The Wild Things are off until Wednesday when they play a two-game series at Windy City. … Czech is third in Frontier League history with 94 career home runs. Brocato’s home run gives his 93. Second on the all-time list is Stephen Holdren, who played for Gateway, Southern Illinois and River City in his career. Holdren hit 100 home runs. … O’Hanlon was acquired from Ottawa to complete a trade made last month when starting pitcher Dominic Puccetti was dealt to the Titans in exchange for a player to be named. … Washington played the series without closer Tyler Davis, who is expected to be the third Wild Things player to be picked up by a major league organization this season.