Washington Leads All the Way, Division Lead to 3 Games
AUGUSTA, NJ (September 4) - Washington led from the first inning on in the second game of the four-game set in Augusta, New Jersey and took the contest, 7-3 to move three games ahead of the Miners in the Northeast Division with eight games left for the Wild Things.
Washington scored the first four runs of the second game of the series in the first two innings. In the first with two outs, Scotty Dubrule singled through the left side to give the Things a baserunner. The next batter, Bralin Jackson, tripled over the right fielder's head to bring home Dubrule. Jackson scored on an 0-2 single by Grant Heyman to right field. In the second, Joe Campagna hit his first home run since August 5 at Sussex County to make it 4-0 on the two-run blast, Campagna's 11th of the season.
Daren Osby, Washington's starting pitcher, was nearly flawless through five before Sussex County got to him a bit in the sixth. The homestanding Miners got five hits in the sixth inning and scored three times, once on a flare by Audy Ciriaco and twice on a single the opposite way by Trevin Esquerra. But Osby got out of it after that to finish with a quality start and in line for the win.
The Wild Things punched back in the seventh and plated a run on a wild pitch after Joe Campagna doubled down the left field line to start the frame. Jesus Balaguer pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts. Hector Roa knocked home a run with a single in the eighth to make it 6-3. Bralin Jackson had doubled to start the inning and went to third on a sacrifice by Heyman, who reached on an error by reliever Ramsey Romano.
Jesus Balaguer pitched a clean seventh inning to start the bullpen's night. Dan Kubiuk tossed a scoreless eighth inning before Bralin Jackson added his second RBI extra-base hit of the night to plate Dubrule and make it 7-3 Washington in th top of the ninth. Jackson had four hits for the second-straight night and finished a home run shy of the cycle in the win. Zach Strecker worked the ninth to close the game.
The series now shifts to the third game, Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Washington owns a three-game lead in the Northeast Division after tonight's win and has a magic number of seven to clinch the division crown and one of the four spots in the Frontier League playoffs.
