Wes Darvill's Walk-Off Single Helps Washington Salvage Finale
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 27) – The Washington Wild Things (28-35) avoided the sweep against the New Jersey Jackals (37-24) when Wes Darvill singled for the fourth time in the finale, bringing in Robert Chayka to win the game 7-6 in Washington’s fifth walk-off dugout.
Wild Things starting pitcher Hayden Shenefield didn’t help his own cause in his first inning of work, but settled down after that. An error allowed Martin Figueroa to turn his infield single to a quick trip to third base. A productive groundout gave the Jackals an early 1-0 lead.
For the first time all series the Washington Wild Things took the lead. The Wild Things found themselves with the bases loaded off a pair of walks and a single. Wagner Lagrange did his part driving in a run via a one-out sacrifice fly. Wes Darvill took advantage of an outfield error to swipe home. Washington snags a 2-1 lead with eight more scheduled innings to play.
Washington manufactured another run in the second despite not landing a hit. Carson Clowers worked a walk, swiped a base and used some heads up baserunning to work his way home on consecutive groundouts. JC Santini got an RBI in the effort.
New Jersey third baseman Kevin Rolon was the first to put one over the wall in game three. A solo shot in the third mades it a one-run game with Washington still leading 3-2.
Anthony Brocato answered with a home run of his own in the fifth inning. The loud three-run blast put Washington in the driver’s seat entering the latter half of the game with a 6-2 lead.
A baseball rarity occurred in the bottom of the seventh when opposing bullpen arm Yuichi Shiota shut Washingtown down with three consecutive strikeouts on nine pitches for an immaculate inning.
The Jackals carried the momentum over to offense erasing the Wild Things lead. A leadoff double by Josh Rehwaldt put a runner in scoring position. Alfredo Marte ripped an RBI single down the line. Alex Toral followed up with an RBI double. A mix of errors and base hits turned the Washington lead into a memory and tied the game at 6-6.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth Robert Chayka gave the fans something to be excited about. He legged a two-out double down the line. Chayka snuck over to third on a wild pitch that sat right underneath the catcher’s. Darvill walked up to the plate already boasting three hits on the night. It was a perfect time to collect his fourth as he split first and second basemen for a walk-off, RBI single.
The Wild Things will look to end July with an important series win as they host the Joliet Slammers (27-36) for a three-game series. First pitch tomorrow will be 7:05 p.m. Gates are set to open an hour prior.
