Washington Falls in Middle Game 14-3 as Rascals Collect 20 Hits
WASHINGTON, Pa. (August 4) - The Wild Things were unable to follow up after an exciting walk-off win in Friday night's series opener with the River City Rascals. A 5-for-5 night by second baseman and number nine hitter Trevor Achenbach led River City (38-34) to a 14-3 win in the middle game of the series Saturday night at Wild Things Park. The Rascals’ offense pounded out 20 hits against five Wild Things pitchers.
After being shutout in the series opener, River City scored in its first at-bat against Wild Things' starter Levi Mavorhis. With two outs and centerfielder JD Hearn on third, designated hitter Paul Kronenfeld drove Hearn in with a single to put the Rascals ahead.
River City added on in the second, again striking with two outs. Achenbach’s banner night began when he tripled to score right fielder Zach Lavy. Along with going 5-5, Achenbach also drew a walk, drove in four runs and scored a run on the night.
It remained 2-0 until the fifth when the Rascals once again did two-out damage. Lavy—who went 2-4 with an RBI and run scored— drove a double over the head of left fielder Roman Collins to bring home Kronenfeld and expand the lead.
The Wild Things (39-32) cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the fifth. With one out and runners on first and third, center fielder James Harris singled home designated hitter Conner Simonetti to make it 3-1.
River City responded, however, by busting the game open with three runs in the sixth, spoiling relief pitcher Jake Belinda's Wild Things' debut. First baseman Clint Freeman hit a two-run double, and subsequently came home to score on a single by catcher Mike Jurgella, pushing the lead to 6-1.
River City added a run in the top of the seventh and five more in the eighth. A two-run double by Jurgella— who went 2-5 with four RBI— made it 12-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Medina hit his fifth homer of the season— a two-run shot—to make it 12-3. That closed the book on Rascals’ starter Josh Kimborowicz (4-4) who allowed three runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out three over 7.1 for the win. The Rascals added two more runs in the ninth to cap off the scoring.
For Washington, Mavorhis (1-1) took the loss in his second Wild Things start. He allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings while walking two, striking out a batter and hitting another.
The series rubber-match is scheduled for tomorrow evening. For Washington, Michael Austin (0-2) will look for his first win as a Wild Thing, opposing Dalton Roach (0-1). First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m.
