Comeback Falls Short as Win Streak is Snapped at Seven
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 11) - The Washington Wild Things dropped the final game against the Evansville Otters, as the Otters got their first win against the Wild Things this season. The Otters also snapped the Wild Things seven-game win streak in a 5-4 ball game.
Washington’s Daniel Fregio started the game on fire with 12 straight outs to start the game. He had a perfect game until the fifth inning when Evansville Otters first baseman Dakota Phillips doubled to right field to spoil the strong start.
Washington’s offense did not take long to make noise as Tommy Caufield hit a two-run home run for his eighth on the season, scoring Ethan Wilder, who singled and advanced to second in the previous at-bat. Caufield is now tied for seventh in the league for RBI with 42. In the third, after a walk and a stolen base from Carson Clowers, Ethan Wilder hit an RBI single to right field to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the fifth inning, after the double from Phillips, Evansville went on a run, scoring two runs and hitting three-straight doubles to make it a 3-2 game heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Fregio was pulled after six after a quality start of six innings, five hits and five strikeouts. He was followed up by All-Star reliever Christian James, who had an off night, giving up two runs on four hits. The runs gave Evansville a 4-3 lead. A dropped third strike and wild pitch allowed a two-out runner to reach and Evansville cashed in for a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Logan Brown to make it 5-3, a run that proved meaningful.
The Wild Things struggled after their hot start, as they were unable to get a hit in four straight innings. It looked like that would continue, but with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Tyreque Reed smoked a solo homerun to right field to make it a 5-4 game in favor of the Otters.
Despite the comeback effort, the Wild Things still fell short against the Otters in game three, but still won the series 2-1. The club notched the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth but came up empty, unlike a night ago.
The Wild Things look to put this loss past them, as they will have to travel to Florence to play the Y’alls. First pitch tomorrow will be at 7:03 p.m. ET.
