May 17, 2026 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

Credit the Wild Things and Schaumburg Boomers for showing the variety of games the Frontier League can produce during their three-game weekend series at EQT Park.

The first two nights saw fast-paced, well-pitched games that were won by Washington, including a two-hit shutout Saturday night.

On Sunday afternoon, the Wild Things and Boomers played a nine-inning game that could be best described as a struggle for everyone involved, especially the Washington pitching staff that was put in a difficult situation after starter Ethan Brown exited after throwing only 18 pitches because of a knee injury.

That left the Washington bullpen to cover the final 26 outs and the relievers got the job done, with some help from Anthony Brocato’s glove and Isaias Quiroz’s bat.

Quiroz capped a five-run second inning with a three-run homer and Washington held on for a 5-4 win and series sweep.

The Wild Things (7-3) have won five straight.

Kevin Perez (1-1) got the emergency call in the bullpen and replaced Brown four batters into the game with Schaumburg leading 1-0. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed only one hit, a solo home run by Will Pater to lead off the second inning.

“I haven’t been able to get guys settled into roles yet,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said of his relief pitchers. “Things are not as defined as I usually have my bullpens.

“Then today, guys were getting their names called and finding ways to get the job done. Kelvin held them to the one run in the first inning. When he gave up the home run in the second, I said solo homers are not going to get us beat. An example is when we were hitting solo home runs on the road last week and lost three times.”

Washington took the 5-1 lead in the bottom of the second against Schaumburg starter Cole Cook (1-1). Graham Brown, who stole three bases, and Jeff Liquori opened the inning with singles. Cole Fowler lined a single up the middle to cut the Boomers’ lead to 2-1 and put runners on first and third. Liquori tied the game as he scored when D.J. Banks reached on an infield error.

Quiroz, the No. 9 hitter in the Wild Things’ lineup, then hit a three-run homer to left field on the seventh pitch of the at-bat to make it 5-2. It was Quiroz’s first home run of the season and only his second hit.

Maddox Long and Hector Garcia followed Perez on the mound. The Boomers scored twice against Long to close to within 5-4, and Garcia pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth to keep it a one-run game.

Tyler Davis pitched the final two innings, striking out three, to get his first save.

Davis could share the save with Brocato, Washington’s left fielder, whose defense preserved the win. In the fourth inning, with a Schaumburg runner on second base, Brocato raced back to the wall and made a leaping grab of a drive hit by Will Pater.

In the fifth, Brocato made the biggest play of the game. With two outs and a runner on third base, Schaumburg’s Alex Calarco hit a drive deep into the left centerfield gap. Brocato, on a full sprint, laid out and made a diving catch as his body hit the ground, ending the threat.

“Just trying to contribute,” said Brocato, who went 0-for-4 at the plate.

“The first one, I caught about one step from the fence. The next one, in the gap, I didn’t think I’d get to it. But (center fielder Kyle Edwards) and I had good communication.”

Said Vaeth, “On the ball in the gap, I thought he had a chance to catch it. It was hanging up and it wasn’t hit on a line. It was a lefty hitter, so Brocato had the slice coming back to him.

“When we left the field after the game, he said he was just trying to contribute. I said nobody ever said how you have to contribute to a win. Sure, he left a lot of guys on base, but those two catches … the old man can still move.”

Extra bases

Schaumburg left 10 runners on base. … Prior to the game Saturday, Washington placed infielder Benjamin Rosengard on the 7-day injured list and activated pitcher Austin Eaton from the IL. Rosengard made his season debut on Friday and went 1-for-4. … The Wild Things will begin a three-game series against Florence on Tuesday with a 10:35 a.m. Kids Day game. The series continues Wednesday (6:05 p.m.) and concludes Thursday (7:05 p.m.). … Schaumburg has never won the regular season series against Washington. The Wild Things and Boomers will play six more times.