Wild Things lose finale, will face Florence in playoffs
The Wild Things’ regular-season finale against Schaumburg had little meaning in the standings. Washington had a division title locked up since Wednesday night and by the third inning Sunday so too did the Boomers.
So, in the end, the contest was just another game in a 102-game season.
But this sure isn’t the way you want to go into the playoffs if you’re Washington.
Schaumburg, which has been the Wild Things’ postseason nemesis, scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning – all against closer Landon Ginn – to rally for an improbable 9-6 come-form-behind win.
Schaumburg won the final two in the three-game set.
The game started with the outcome possibly being important for Schaumburg. The Boomers had a playoff berth clinched but Schaumburg wanted to win the West Division title and the No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs that came with the championship. Schaumburg began the day one game ahead of Windy City, but the ThunderBolts had the tiebreaker over the Boomers. That meant Schaumburg needed either a win over Washington or a Windy City loss to Florence to clinch the division.
The Windy City-Florence game started about three hours before Washington-Schaumburg but the former was not completed before the latter started. Florence won the game, 6-5, when Windy City had the potential tying run on third base with no outs in the top of the ninth inning but couldn’t drive it in. A Windy City win would have made the ThunderBolts the division champion and No. 2 seed while Schaumburg would have dropped to the No. 4 seed and faced Washington in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, it will be Florence playing the Wild Things when the postseason begins Wednesday night.
“We had the game on (television) in the clubhouse and the baseball operations people had it on in the dugout,” Schaumburg manager Jamie Bennett explained a few minutes after the Boomers had a division-clinching champagne celebration behind the visitor’s clubhouse at EQT Park.
“It was a tough situation because we had guys who were supposed to be focused on the field here. …”
When Windy City-Florence went final, the Boomers’ bullpen began giving high-fives and celebrating even as the Wild Things were batting in the bottom of the second inning, which made for a strange scene.
Washington scored in each of the first three innings and led 5-0. Anthony Brocato had an RBI double in the first off Schaumburg starter Cole Cook and scored on a single by Miles Simington. Cole Fowler led off the second with his 14th home run and Kyle Edwards smacked a two-run homer in the third.
Eldridge Armstrong III got the surprise start on the mound for Washington and threw three scoreless innings. Kelvin Perez, the original scheduled starter, followed with three innings, allowing only a solo homer by Chase Dawson.
Schaumburg’s Jeff Nicholl led off the seventh with a home run off Drew Stegura, who was making his first relief appearance as a professional, but Washington’s Connor Peek had a bases-loaded single in the eighth that pushed the lead to 6-2.
It all fell apart in the top of the ninth when Ginn (1-2), pitching in a non-save situation, gave up three hits, walked five batters and threw three wild pitches. He threw 42 pitches before manager Tom Vaeth took him out of the game and Michael O’Hanlon got the final out.
Schaumburg tied the game on a three-run homer by Kyle FIztgerald and took the lead when Will Prater scored on a wild pitch.
Washington loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth before Tom Vincent got his first professional save.
“I know we’re a good club,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “Would we have liked to close this one out? Sure. But these things can linger and have a hangover effect, so do you still feel good about your club? Not as good as if we would have been able to close this one out. We would have all been feeling very good.”
Extra bases
Washington begins the best-of-3 wild-card round Wednesday at Florence. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, will be at EQT Park Friday and Saturday. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 6:56 p.m. … Edwards went 3-for-5. … Washington first baseman and Frontier League MVP Andrew Czech did not play. He ended up leading the league in RBI (103), walks (98), on-base percentage (.491), slugging percentage (.688) and OPS (1.178) and was second to Brocato in home runs (27). … Jack Snyder (1-2), the fourth of five Schaumburg pitchers, was the winner. … Attendance was 2,834. The season average was 2,279, which is an increase of 181 per game over last year.