Wild Things Run Away With Game One, Division Lead is 4 Games
AUGUSTA, NJ (September 6) - Washington pounded out 16 hits and 10 runs in the first of Monday's doubleheader and got a quality start from Pitcher of the Year candidate Ryan Hennen en route to growing its division lead to four games and clinching a series victory in the pivotal four-game set at Sussex County. The final was 10-2.
Ryan Hennen logged six innings of two-run ball and fanned five while he allowed six hits. His ERA, which started the day at a league-leading 2.11, went up 0.05 to a league-leading 2.16. He earned his 11th win of the season, a total tied for second in the department in the league in 2021. He's 11-3. Sussex County got singular runs in the first and fourth innings of the contest for its two runs on the day, scoring on an RBI single by Juan Kelly and an RBI double by Nick Garland.
Washington had struck first on a Bralin Jackson sacrifice fly in the first that brought home Nick Ward, who singled to start the game. After the Kelly run-scoring single tied it at 1-1, Andrew Czech's first home run since July 31, a moonshot to right, served as his 15th of the year and gave Washington a 3-1 lead with Czech and Trevor Casanova scoring on the big fly. The Wild Things added three in the third inning on an RBI single by Grant Heyman and a two-run single by designated hitter Tristan Peterson. Two more came in in what was eight unanswered to that point in the fourth for the visitors. Jackson hit an RBI single and Hector Roa singled home a run.
The RBI for Roa was his 56th of the year and the 257th of his Wild Things' career, which pulled the outfielder into a tie with Frontier League Hall of Famer Chris Sidick for first on the franchise's career RBI charts. His next home run and his next RBI will put him alone at the top in those categories.
Jesus Balaguer worked a scoreless seventh inning to finish the contest that saw Scotty Dubrule extend his hit streak and on-base streak to 10 games with a three-hit performance. Andrew Sohn had a multi-hit effort, as did Nick Ward, Jackson, Peterson and Czech.
