Wild Things win with run in 9th, clinch playoff berth
Brocato hits franchise-record 32nd home run
SAUGET, Ill. – Miles Simington hit a tiebreaking RBI single that scored Caleb Ketchup from third base in the top of the ninth inning as the Wild Things defeated Gateway 5-4 Thursday night and clinched a Frontier League playoff berth.
The game went to the ninth tied at 4-4. Ketchup led off the inning with a bloop single to center field off Gateway reliever Julio Ortiz (2-3). Ketchup was bunted to second base by Kyle Edwards, and Billy Sullivan reached on a fielder’s choice ground ball as Ketchup moved to third base.
Simington then hit his go-ahead single that bounced off the foot of Ortiz and went into right field.
Mack Anglin (2-0) pitched the final 1⅔ innings to get the win. Washington’s bullpen of Jack Brodsky, Colt Anderson and Anglin combined for four innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit.
Anthony Brocato hit his league-leading 32nd home run, a solo shot in the second inning. The 32 home runs broke the Wild Things’ single-season record that Brocato had shared with Jacob Dempsey, who hit 31 in 2009.
Gateway led 4-3 before Washington tied the score in the sixth inning on a run-scoring single by Sullivan. Brocato and Sullivan both drove in two runs.
Evansville was a 3-0 winner at Schaumburg and stayed three games behind the Wild Things in the Central Division with nine games remaining. The Wild Things’ magic number for clinching the division title was reduced to 7.
Washington is the first team in the Midwest Conference to clinch a Frontier League playoff berth.
The Wild Things begin a weekend series Friday night at Florence, which is 2 ½ games ahead of Windy City for the final wild-card berth.