Washington Wins 40th in 2018 and Series over River City With Sunday's Victory
WASHINGTON, Pa. (August 5)- The Wild Things earned their 40th win of the season Sunday night after defeating the River City Rascals 7-5 at Wild Things Park. The win came in the rubber match of the three-game series as Washington defeated River City Friday and lost Saturday.
The first three innings of play featured just one combined hit and no runs between the teams.
Washington completely changed the pace of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on five hits. Right fielder Hector Roa started the scoring by driving in designated hitter Reydel Medina and left fielder Roman Collins with a single to give Washington a 2-0 lead. First baseman Conner Simonetti doubled the advantage a few at-bats later by bringing in Roa and second baseman Carter McEachern on a double down the right field line. Shortstop Brett Marr capped the scoring in the fourth by bringing Simonetti across with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-0.
River City answered with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Second baseman Trevor Achenbach brought in third baseman Braxton Martinez on a single to cut the deficit to four.
The Wild Things countered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Simonetti added an RBI to his credit when he drove in McEachern on an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1. Center fielder James Harris also contributed an RBI single in the frame to push the Wild Things’ lead to six.
River City scored three runs in the seventh, two coming off bases-loaded walks. Shortstop Ransom LaLonde and Achenbach had RBI walks in the inning, bringing in catcher Gage West and third baseman Braxton Martinez respectively for a 7-3 score. Center fielder JD Hearn brought in right fielder Zach Lavy on a fielder’s choice to cease the scoring and create a 7-4 game.
River City would tack on a run in the top of the ninth after Lavy scored on an error, but the last-minute effort was not enough as Washington took the series finale win 7-5.
Washington starter Michael Austin (1-2) earned his first win as a Wild Thing. He allowed three runs over six innings, while striking out six and walking two. Zach Strecker earned a two-inning save for his 16th of the season.
Dalton Roach (0-2) took the loss for River City. He threw 3.2 innings while allowing five runs on five hits. He also struck out three and walked two.
Washington (40-32) will travel to Joliet to take on the Slammers in a three-game series that starts Tuesday while River City (38-35) will head to Florence for a three-game series.
First pitch against Joliet on Tuesday is scheduled for 8:05 p.m.
