Wild Things on brink of division title
AVON, Ohio – Dariel Fregio pitched seven shutout innings, Caleb McNeely had four hits and four RBI and the Wild Things moved to the brink of the division title with a 10-2 victory over the Lake Erie Crushers on Saturday night.
The win drops Washington’s magic number for clinching the Frontier League West Division championship to 1. The Wild Things would have wrapped it up Saturday had Evansville defeated Gateway. However, the Grizzlies rallied in the ninth inning to force extras and defeated the Otters 4-3 in 10 innings.
One more Washington win or Gateway loss will give the Wild Things the division title.
Washington has a 62-26 record with seven games remaining in the regular season. The 62 wins ties the franchise record. The 2004, 2005 and 2022 teams each won 62 games.
Fregio (9-4) allowed only one hit – a second-inning double – and struck out eight. He did not issue a walk.
McNeely, who on Friday became the first player in Wild Things history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, led a 16-hit attack. He went 4-for-5 with a home run that led off the game, a double, three runs and four RBI.
Tyreque Reed hit a three-run homer in Washington’s four-run second inning. Andrew Czech hit a solo home run in the eighth inning.