Wild Things Held To One Hit in Series Opener Against Grizzlies
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 18) – The Washington Wild Things returned home Tuesday evening for Autism Awareness Night as they fell to the Gateway Grizzlies 4-0 in a pitcher’s duel. In the matchup, Zach Kirby and Frankie Giuliano combined for solid outings as Giuliano had his longest outing of the season. The offensive struggles affected each player in the Wild Things lineup as Tommy Caufield recorded the only hit.
Zach Kirby came into the game dealing as he finished the first inning in seven pitches on a flyout and two popouts. He continued his dominance into the second inning as he struck out each of the three Grizzlies batters he faced in 11 pitches.
The Grizzlies got the offense going in the top of the third inning as each of the first three batters reached thanks to a walk, single, and hit by pitch. With the bases loaded and no outs, leadoff hitter Abdiel Diaz hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Robert Chayka to give Gateway a 1-0 lead. Kirby was able to escape the jam with no further damage thanks to a line drive chased down by center fielder Caleb McNeely and the fourth strikeout by Kirby of the day.
Gateway added another run in the top of the fifth inning thanks to an RBI single from Gabe Holt who scored Kyle Gaedele in from second base and extended the lead to 2-0. In the bottom of the frame, Washington recorded their first hit of the evening as Tommy Caufield led off the inning with an infield single towards second base. The Wild Things put up their first threat of the game as Alex Ovalles drew a walk to force the first mound visit for the Grizzlies. Following the mound visit, Collin Sullivan struck out Chayka before walking Ricardo Sanchez to load the bases. Despite the bases loaded one out jam, Sullivan escaped the inning without allowing a run.
Kirby was chased from the game in the seventh inning after allowing two singles before southpaw Frankie Giuliano entered the game. In all, Gateway added two runs in the seventh, both charged to Kirby as the Grizzlies took a 4-0 lead into the seventh inning stretch. In all, Zach Kirby finished with 100 pitches as he went 6.1 innings with five strikeouts, four earned runs, six hits, and one walk allowed, missing out on his fifth-straight quality start by a run.
Giuliano finished the game for the Wild Things as he pitched 2.2 innings without allowing any runs or walks. He did hit two batters and allowed a single in his extended outing. The 2.2 innings marked his longest appearance of the season, doubling his previous season high of 1.1 innings.
Offensively, the Wild Things never got anything going as they finished with only one hit and did not accrue a baserunner over the final four innings thanks to strong Gateway pitching. Caufield recorded the only hit for Washington and Evan Berkey was the only Wild Thing player to reach base twice as he was hit by a pitch in the first inning and walked in the third.
The Wild Things return to action Wednesday evening for their third Senior Slugger Wednesday game of the season, presented by AARP Pennsylvania, as first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 P.M. The Wild Things will face the Grizzlies in game two of the three-game series in hopes of knotting up the series and forcing a rubber match on Thursday. Wednesday is also Elvis Night presented by Country Meadows Retirement Communities.
