May 16, 2026 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

For those who dig the long ball, the Wild Things did add to their league-leading home run total Saturday night against Schaumburg. This time, it was only one round-tripper, a two-run shot by Andrew Czech in the first inning.

That, however, wasn’t the storyline of the game.

Not even close.

Washington starting pitcher Andrew Herbert stole the spotlight by tossing seven spectacular shutout innings, leading the Wild Things to a 5-0 victory over the Boomers.

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Wild Things.

Herbert (2-0) retired the first 12 Schaumburg hitters before plunking the Boomers’ Anthony Calarco in the foot with a pitch to start the fifth inning. Herbert, a righthander who was the Wild Things’ closer last year, allowed only one hit in his seven innings. He walked one and struck out a career-high nine.

“Last year, when I was pitching out of the bullpen I threw only three pitches. I have a six-pitch mix so I got rid of a few because I didn’t need all of them,” Herbert said. “I used all six tonight.”

And all six were producing impressive results.

Herbert had a sniper-like action all night. If he wanted to throw a pitch over the corner of the plate, then he did. If he wanted to spin a breaking ball on the outside corner at the knees, then he did. If he wanted to slow it down with a changeup, then he usually had a Boomers hitter leaning, on his front foot and waving at the pitch.

The 6-6 righthander who was signed by Washington last year out of Reinhardt University in Georgia, began the night by striking out the first four Schaumburg hitters and six of the first nine.

By the time he got through the Boomers’ order the first time, Herbert was already pitching with all the runs he and reliever Michael Foltz Jr. would need.

Graham Brown hit a two-out single off Schaumburg starter Harry Orth (0-2) and Czech followed with a home run off the top row of signage beyond center field for a 2-0 lead.

Walks to Anthony Brocato and Hunter Stokely started the bottom of the second inning and set up a two-run single by Caleb Ketchup that made it 4-0.

Herbert meanwhile took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. With one out, Tony Livermore, the No. 9 hitter in the Boomers’ lineup, turned on a pitch and lined a clean double down the right-field line, draining whatever drama was building.

“Bad changeup,” Herbert said. “He should have hit that one.”

In the seventh, Herbert was visited on the mound by manager Tom Vaeth and trainer Hailey Drollinger.

“He had a blood blister on his middle finger,” Vaeth explained. “We’ll have to see how quick the finger heals. He might have to put it in pickle juice or use the Nolan Ryan method to get it to heal faster.”

Herbert stayed in the game after the mound visit and ended up striking out the side in the seventh.

“My message hasn’t changed in six years – get ahead early by pounding the strike zone,” Vaeth said. “You have to attack.

“His changeup was good tonight. When he’s right, he’s filling up the strike zone with the changeup, breaking ball and a couple of different fastballs.”

Extra bases

The Wild Things, who have won their last three series, will try for their first sweep of the season Sunday at 4:05 p.m. That is a new start time for Sunday home games. … Washington scored its final run in the fifth inning. Brown drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a Czech hit-and-run single and scored when Jeff Liquori bounced into a fielder’s choice. … Foltz Jr. pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit with four strikeouts. … The game was stopped briefly at the start of the eighth inning for a rabbit delay. The animal had to be chased off the warning track in right field.