Wild Things, Rascals Split Doubleheader
WASHINGTON, PA – The Washington Wild Things [15-14] and the River City Rascals [16-13] split the doubleheader on Wednesday evening, as two teams near the top of their respective divisions battled for control of the second wild-card spot.
As expected for two teams that had near similar records entering today’s contests, both games were nail biters to the very end with River City winning game one 4-3, after the Wild Things mounted a near comeback in the final frame, while the Wild Things were able to walk off in game two by a score of 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning to split the day’s games.
In game one, second basemen Alexander Fernandez hit a home run in his second consecutive game to give Washington a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Right-handed pitcher Trevor Foss (3-3) pitched well through five innings, however, allowed three earned runs in the sixth to relinquish the lead at the hands of the Rascals, making it 3-1 after six innings. Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, catcher Kyle Pollock singled to score two runs to cut the deficit to one run, however, Washington would lose the game.
Foss earned the loss in the outing, while left-handed pitcher Dan Ludwig (2-0), the starting pitcher for River City, remained undefeated.
In game two, the ballgame remained scoreless until right fielder Hector Roa singled home centerfielder Rashad Brown in the fourth inning to give the Wild Things a 1-0 lead. River City would score two in the top of the sixth to give the Rascals the 2-1 lead, before Roa once again singled home a run, now in the sixth inning, to tie the game up at two apiece.
River City plated a single run in the top half of the seventh and final frame off a triple by second basemen Jason Merjano, however the Wild Things once again would not go down quietly, and were able to walk off 4-3, after three-straight walks by right-handed pitcher Jason Zgardowski (1-1) loaded the bases with no outs. A passed ball would score designated hitter Kenny Peoples-Walls to make the game 3-3, before first basemen Kane Sweeney got his second hit of the night to score the game-winning run.
The Wild Things and Rascals will play the rubber match of the set tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.
