Down East beats Wild Things in sudden death
Mark Marietta
A little extra time paid off handsomely Wednesday night for the Down East Bird Dawgs.
Manager Brett Wellman waited an extra hour or so – until after batting practice – to fill out his lineup card for the game at EQT Park against the Wild Things. He wanted to see if the Bird Dawgs’ Christian Adams was healthy enough to swing a bat and play.
Adams passed the test and was penciled into the lineup for the first time in 10 days.
Then the teams had to wait 58 minutes before the first pitch could be thrown because a rain storm moved through Washington and delayed the start of the game. The rain began during the national anthem.
Then it took some extra time to determine a winner.
Adams hit a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning – the Frontier League’s sudden-death inning – as Down East defeated the Wild Things, 9-6.
The home run, which came off Washington reliever Eldridge Armstrong III, came with one out in the 11th. It capped a big night for Adams as he went 3-for-6 with a home run, two doubles and four RBI. His two doubles both went to the wall.
“He was hurt and having some trouble, but he came in today and said that if he can make it through batting practice then he’s going to play,” Wellman said of Adams. “He’s an MVP-caliber player. When he’s in the lineup, it never feels like we’re out of a game. His presence is huge. We’re a different team when he’s in the lineup.”
The 11th inning began with Washington choosing to play defense and sending Armstrong into the game, replacing closer Landon Ginn, who had pitched the previous two innings. The Bird Dawgs’ Trey Law began the inning on first base and was bunted to second by Michael DiTamaso.
Kalae Harrison then drew a four-pitch walk, which set up a potential game-ending double play. However, the left-handed hitting Adams belted a no-doubt home run to right field.
It was the first sudden death game Down East had played since the regular-season finale last year, also at EQT Park. The Bird Dawgs won that game, too.
Down East had not even played an extra-inning game all season until Sunday against Tri-City.
“We’ve played a ton of one-run games, though,” Wellman said.
Adams’ blast capped what was a frustrating night for the Wild Things, who left a small village on the basepaths. They stranded 15 baserunners, and despite having 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position were never able to hold a lead in the game.
What kept Washington within striking distance was one big inning and the right arm of center fielder Caleb Ketchup, who threw out two Down East baserunners at home plate.
Down East led 5-1 in the sixth inning but Washington scored four times to tie. Connor Peek walked to start the inning against Bird Dawgs reliever Miguel Cirino and Kyle Edwards followed with a single. Ryan Ford, who went 3-for-5, singled home Peek. One out later, Andrew Czech smacked his 21st home run of the season, a three-run shot that made it 5-5.
Down East went ahead 6-5 in the 10th when Kenny Lievari, who entered the game hitting only .163, singled in tiebreaker runner Jacob Corson. Ketchup kept Washington in the game later in the inning when he threw out pinch-runner Trotter Harlan.
Washington made it 6-6 in its half of the 10th. Antonio Monroy was the tiebreaker runner at second base and he moved to third on a bunt by Ford. Billy Sullivan then hit a slow bouncer about 45 feet up the third base line that scored Monroy. Sullivan was eventually stranded at third base.
Washington manager Tom Vaeth was unavailable for comment after the game.
Extra bases
Washington had its lead in the Central Division trimmed to six games over both Evansville and Florence. Evansville swept a doubleheader against Joliet. Florence won in 10 innings at Sussex County to extend its winning streak to 10 games. … Wellman’s father Phillip is the bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Class A affiliate in Greensboro. … Tanner Duncan (3-1) was the winning pitcher with two innings of relief. … Washington is 13-4 against the Atlantic Conference. … The Wild Things are 2-3 in sudden death games this year.