May 29, 2025 3 min read

AVON, Ohio – The fourth time turned out to be the charm for the Washington Wild Things Wednesday night.

After Washington squandered the lead three times, reliever Jake Carroll held Lake Erie off the scoreboard in the sudden death 11th inning to secure a win.

The game was tied 6-6 when the 11th inning began.

The sudden death rule is unique to the Frontier League. If the game is tied after 10 innings the home team elects to hit with a runner on first base or pitch. If the hitting team scores, they win and if the pitching team gets three outs without a run, they win.

It’s not a surprise that Lake Erie elected to hit, because Washington had blown a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth, a 4-3 lead in the ninth and a 6-4 lead in the 10th.

But Carrol, with some help from outfielder Robert Chayka, managed to keep Lake Erie off the board in the 11th.

Chayka threw out a runner at home plate for the second out in the 11th and Carroll got a strikeout to end a game that lasted over four hours.

A big pinch hit RBI single by Willie Estrada gave the Wild Things a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Estrada pinch hit for Jommer Hernandez and laced a single to left field that scored Ethan Wilder.

Lake Erie loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with one out, but reliever Chad Coles, in his Washington debut, got out of it, with the aid of a fortunate bounce.

He threw a wild pitch, but the ball kicked off the backstop right to the catcher, Estrada. and the runner at third, Davie Morgan, was caught in no-man’s land. He was thrown out at third for the second out.

Coles struck out Scout Knotts to retire the side and keep the lead intact.

But the Crushers scored a run off Washington closer Jake McCaskey in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

Washington (10-7) scored twice in the 10th, but Lake Erie (10-5) countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to force sudden death.

Prior to Estrada’s pinch-hit go-ahead single, the Wild Things led 3-1, but

Knotts and Seth Strong hit an RBI single each for the Crushers off Washington reliever Ryan Chasse to tie it up.

Dominic Puccetti, who was signed by the Wild Things Wednesday, started and pitched well in his professional debut.

He allowed one run on four hits over five innings with four walks and four strikeouts in a no-decision.

Puccetti comes to the Wild Things from Lander University, a NCAA Division II school in South Carolina.

Brett Roberts got the scoring started for the Wild Things in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Wagner Lagrange.

Sam Franco responded with an RBI single for the Crushers in the bottom half to tie the game at 1-1.

Andrew Czech and Ethan Wilder produced a run-scoring single each in the top of the fifth to give the Wild Things a 3-1 lead.

Washington and Lake Erie will conclude the series today with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.