May 25, 2025 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

After his manager set the Wild Things record for victories with his 240th on Saturday night, Washington first baseman Andrew Czech walked into Tom Vaeth’s office and congratulated Washington’s skipper.

Vaeth quickly pointed out that Czech had played a role in each of the victories. Both manager and player are in their fifth season in Washington.

Another player who has had a helping hand in a significant number of Vaeth’s wins is outfielder Wagner Lagrange, who has been remarkably consistent and productive during his Wild Things tenure, which is currently in its fourth year.

Czech and Lagrange played key roles in Vaeth’s 241st career win Sunday when Washington defeated Florence 9-7 in a series finale that was much closer at the end than it should have been.

Lagrange had three hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs, and Czech hit his fifth homer of the season and drove in three as the Wild Things won the series finale.

“They have carried the torch,” Vaeth said of his two veterans. “What I’m really proud of is how they have become leaders and great role models for our younger players. When a young player comes in, they are the first to take him under their wing. They’re my leaders.”

The latest young player to join the Wild Things is pitcher Andrew Herbert, who was signed earlier in the day and started against the Y’alls. A 6-6 right-handed rookie out of Rinehardt University, an NAIA school in Georgia, Herbert had a 12-0 record and 1.88 ERA this spring at Rinehardt, pitching the Eagles to the NAIA tournament. In his final three years at Rinehardt, Herbert had an impressive 31-2 record.

He started his professional career, in part, because his family has a connection to the Wild Things. His older brother, Lucas Herbert, was a catcher for Washington in 2019. He played 17 games with the Wild Things before having his contract purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The younger Herbert (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning to get his initial pro win. He cruised through the first five innings and had a 9-3 lead, thanks to Lagrange and Czech’s offense, before running into trouble in the sixth. Florence strung together four consecutive hits that had Washington calling upon its bullpen.

Then, during a 10-batter stretch that started when Herbert was replaced, Wild Things relievers issued six walks, helping Florence to close to within 9-7.

Herbert gave up nine hits and six runs (five earned). He walked two and struck out four.

“I thought he did a great job,” Vaeth said. “At one point, his pitch count was low and he came in and attacked the strike zone. For his first pro start, he was good.”

Jackson Hicks came out of the bullpen to get a strikeout that ended the Florence seventh with the bases loaded. Hector Garcia pitched the eighth inning and Jacob Maskey followed with a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save in as many days.

Czech led off the second inning with a home run off Florence starter Shaun Gamelin (0-3) that gave Washington a 2-1 lead. Lagrange hit a three-run homer to center field in the third that made it 6-3.

Vaeth said Herbert will likely pitch out of the bullpen. He already has thrown more than 100 innings this year, so Vaeth wants to limit the rookie’s workload.

“For sure,” he said. “Andybody you get out of college, especially one with 100 innings pitched, you have to be careful with. Pitching out of the bullpen will make that more manageable. He started today because I wanted to see him and I wanted him to pitch at home. Plus, having him make a start gives everyone in the rotation an extra day of rest.”

Extra bases

Washington begins a three-game series Tuesday at Lake Erie, the first-place team in the Central Division. … Prior to the game, Washington put third baseman Tommy Caufield back on the 7-day injured list and moved relief pitcher Joelvis Del Rosario from the injured list to the inactive list. … On Monday, Washington made two trades with Atlantic league teams, acquiring pitcher Chad Coles, who played his high school ball in the WPIAL at Norwin, from York in exchnage for future considerations, and received infielder Cael Chatham from Southern Maryland. The moves give Washington 24 active players.