Jul 30, 2024 2 min read

JOLIET, Ill. – The Wild Things continue to put distance between themselves and the competition in the Frontier League’s West Division.

Andrew Czech and Jalen Miller hit consecutive RBI singles in the top of the eighth inning as Washington rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Joliet Slammers in a series opener Tuesday night.

The win, combined with losses by both Gateway and Lake Erie, padded Washington’s lead to 5 games over the Grizzlies and 6½ over the Crushers, who have won only one game since the all-star break.

The Wild Things took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Caleb McNeely singled, moved up on consecutive groundouts and scored on a wild pitch. McNeely went 3-for-3 and reached base five times.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the second when Miller doubled and scored a sacrifice fly by Brandon McIlwain.

Joliet pushed across one run in the bottom of the fourth against Washington starter Zach Kirby and grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Matt Warkentin hit a two-run double.

The Slammers squandered a golden opportunity to add to the lead in the sixth when they loaded the bases with no outs on three consecutive singles. Kirby, however, got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a popout.

Kirby gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings.

In the seventh, Washington tied the score at 3-3 when Miller hit his second home run of the season. Miller finished the night 3-for-4.

In the eighth, RBI hits by Czech and Miller put the Wild Things ahead.

Christian James (1-1) was the winning pitcher in relief. Gyeongju Kim pitched the ninth inning for his 17th save, which ties for the league lead.