Wild Things make most out of their hits, beat Bird Dawgs
If you’re going to get only five hits, then you might as well make ’em count.
The red numbers on the scoreboard at EQT Park showed that Down East outhit the Wild Things 7-5 Tuesday night in a series opener.
This game, however, was not about quantity of hits but rather the quality.
Washington third baseman Cole Fowler had a three-run homer, Antonio Monroy added a solo home run and the Wild Things defeated the Bird Dawgs, 5-1.
Fowler hit his 11th home run of the season in the second inning and it gave Washington a 3-1 lead, and Monroy led off the third with his fourth round-tripper to make it a three-run advantage for the home team. The Wild Things’ lumber then went into a deep slumber against Down East starter Drew Henderson (3-7) and three relievers. Washington sent 21 batters to the plate before getting its next hit, a single by Jeff Liquori in the eighth inning.
That stretch of the game is what had Washington manager Tom Vaeth seething afterward. Henderson had entered the night with an ugly 8.70 ERA and leading the Frontier League in home runs allowed. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits but four runs.
“A three-run homer helps you out a lot. We had a couple of good swings but we have to be better,” Vaeth said. “We have to get better approaches at the plate. You have a pitcher who has an 8-ERA and we get only three hits in seven innings.
“The general rule this year is you only have to throw a guy with an 8-ERA and we struggle to get hits. We get ahead in the count and we swing at pitches that aren’t close to being in the strike zone. We must have a better idea of the strike zone. That will be the message (Wednesday).”
Down East took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Washington starter Kelvin Perez (5-2). In that frame, Perez dropped a potential inning-ending double-play comebacker. He recovered in time to get the second out of the inning, but Ali LaPread followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield that scored Stephen DiTomaso.
That would be all the scoring for Down East. Perez, a converted reliever who was making only his fifth professional start, went seven innings. He scattered six hits and walked one with four strikeouts. Reliever Michael Foltz Jr. pitched the final two innings and struck out five for his first save.
“Kelvin threw lights out,” Fowler said. “When he’s on the mound, the entire defense feels confident.”
Washington took the lead in the second inning. Anthony Brocato led off with a four-pitch walk and Liquori singled through the right side. One out later, Fowler crushed a pitch for a 417-foot home run into the parking lot beyond right field for a 3-1 Wild Things lead.
Monroy’s line-drive homer, also to right field, made it 4-1.
Washington scored an insurance run in the eighth against Down East reliever Zac Flontek. Liquori singled with one out. Two batters later, Fowler hit a sinking liner to right field. The Bird Dawgs’ LaPread charged in and tried to make a shoestring catch but the ball landed and skipped past him as Liqori scored.
Fowler was originally credited with a triple but the ruling was changed after the game to a single and two-base error.
The win started what is an important stretch for the Wild Things, who lead the Central Division by seven games over second-place Evansville. The Otters make their first trip to Washington this weekend.
“We’re just going game by game,” Fowler said. “We want to win that night’s game and worry about tomorrow later.”
Extra bases
Attendance was 3,607, the ninth sellout of the season and the largest crowd at EQT Park since July 23, 2024. … When Foltz entered the game in the eighth inning, the first batter he faced was DiTomaso, his former teammate at George Washington University.