Washington Falls in Back-and-Forth Affair, 13-7
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington Wild Things (12-10) were unable to outlast the River City Rascals (11-11) in an inter-division slugfest, losing the first of a three-game series, 13-7 Tuesday night.
Right-hander Chase Cunningham got a no-decision after four innings of work as the starter, allowing seven runs on twelve hits. Davis Adkins allowed his first two runs of the season to cross the plate, and consequently, earned his first loss.
The scoring began in the second inning when third baseman Mike Hill was driven in by an RBI single off the bat of designated hitter Kenny Peoples-Walls. Later in the inning, outfielder Bralin Jackson who jacked a long grand slam over the left field fence putting the Wild Things up 5-0.
River City was able to answer with four runs in the bottom of the frame, two of which came from a two-run shot from outfielder Brandon Thomas. In the bottom of the fourth, the Rascals were able to tie the game and take the lead as a wild pitch scored both Jason Merjano and Clint Freeman, putting the score at 6-5.
Washington got back-to-back-to-back base hits in the next frame from first baseman Kane Sweeney, outfielder Hector Roa and Hill, the third of which scored a run. Peoples-Walls quickly notched his second RBI knock of the evening, giving Washington the 7-6 lead.
This lead once again didn’t last long, as Josh Ludy plated Mike Jurgella with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at seven and bringing Cunningham’s day to an end with Davis Adkins coming in from the bullpen.
After two scoreless innings, the Rascals were able to once again gain the lead in the bottom of the seventh by way of a sacrifice fly from Johnny Morales. Jason Merjano was able to add some cushion to the lead with a three-run homer in the next at bat, putting the score to 11-7. River City added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, cementing the lead at 13-7.
Sweeney, Hill, and Peoples-Walls all had themselves multi-hit games in the loss, and Jackson tallied his fifth home run of the season with his second-inning grand slam. Trevor Belicek (1-2) takes the mound for the Wild Things tomorrow as they square off for Game 2. First pitch is set for 7:35pm EST.
