Wild Things Win Season Opener
Before an opening night crowd of 5,027 fans at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois, the Washington Wild Things beat the Gateway Grizzlies 4-3. Wild Things right-handed starter Trevor Foss allowed just two hits in four scoreless innings.
Grizzlies’ starter Trevor Richards matched Foss through four but, in the fifth inning, Washington’s offense sprung into action. David Popkins led off the inning with a double and Scott Carcaise walked with one out to put runners on first and second. Kyle Pollock singled to center to score Popkins. Jamal Austin followed with an RBI single of his own to make it 2-0. Washington plated its third run of the inning on Austin Wobrock’s sacrifice fly.
The Grizzlies responded with a run in the bottom half of the fifth. Brandon Thomas singled with one out and was driven home on a run-scoring base hit by Logan Davis.
The score remained 3-1 until the eighth, when Jimmy Mezzo picked up what would turn out to be the game winning RBI on a single to center field which allowed Wobrock to score from third. As of the end of the eighth inning, Washington led 4-1.
In the ninth, the Grizzlies loaded the bases with no outs against Wild Things reliever Andrew Woeck. Woeck in his first appearance as a Wild Thing induced Davis to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, but a run scored. With a runner on third and two outs, Cody Livesay picked up an RBI with a single to make it 4-3. The game came down to a battle between Woeck and Grizzlies’ second baseman Seth Heck. On a 2-2 count with the winning run on base, Woeck struck out Heck to win the game for Washington.
The Grizzlies and Wild Things play the second game of their three-game set on Saturday night in Sauget Illinois. First pitch is at 8:05 pm (ET) and will be live-streamed. Click the "Watch Live" link on the Wild Things home page.
The Wild Things’ home opener will be Friday May 20 at 7:05 at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, Pa. It's the first Fireworks Friday of the year. Every Friday home game is a Fireworks Friday! Tickets can be purchased here.
