Wild Things Pitch, Club Their Way to Victory
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 24) – The Washington Wild Things took the middle game against the Lake Erie Crushers, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Wild Things Park. The Wild Things extended their advantage in first place in the Frontier League West Division and became the first team in the Frontier League to reach 40 wins in 2024.
A short rain delay pushed back the first pitch 19 minutes, but Zach Kirby came out dealing, nonetheless. The All Star punched out two batters in the first inning. Kirby sat down another in the second before Lake Erie scored the first run of the game. The run was unearned against Kirby due to an error by Carson Clowers in the infield.
Frontier League home run and RBI leader Caleb McNeely sent a solo shot to left field that tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third. This was McNeely’s 15th home run of the season, which put him ahead of Florence Y’all T.J. Reeves for the most home runs in the Frontier League.
The Crushers had a chance to score in the top of the fourth with a one-out triple by John Tuccillo but Kirby did not lose his focus, as he was able to get a groundout to shortstop that held the runner at third. He then worked a groundout to second to get out of the inning.
After Kirby worked another scoreless frame in the top of the fifth, Brandon McIlwain led off the bottom of the inning with a no-doubt solo homer over the wall and into the left field parking lot. It was McIlwain’s fourth home run of the season for the Wild Things. Ricardo Sanchez reached on a hit by pitch and Clowers singled to put runners on first and second before McNeely crushed his second home run of the night to score them both. With the multi-HR effort, McNeely gained his first career two-homer game and became the fourth Wild Thing to notch the accomplishment this season. The four-run frame put the Wild Things up 5-1 heading into the sixth inning.
Nick MacDonald took the mound for Washington in the sixth. Kirby finished his day with four strikeouts, allowing just one unearned run on four hits. Lake Erie recorded two singles, but MacDonald held firm to keep them scoreless in the inning. Washington put two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to plate any runs.
The Crushers were able to get another two men on base with one out after Ryan Munoz took the mound in the top of the seventh. Just like the previous inning, they were unable to score any runs. Alex Carrillo allowed a baserunner but worked a scoreless eighth and Gyeongju Kim came in to close the game. He struck two batters out and made the final batter ground out to second.
The Wild Things pitching was able to work through some tough situations, as Lake Erie left 10 men on base in the game. McNeely stole the show offensively for Washington, hitting two homers while driving home four of the five runs scored. McIlwain and Sanchez both recorded multi-hit performances, while Tommy Caufield, Wagner Lagrange, Tyreque Reed and Clowers all had one hit apiece.
The Wild Things look to take the series over the Crushers tomorrow night at Wild Things Park. The first pitch on a Thirsty Thursday presented by the Molson Coors Beverage Company and Christmas in July, presented by UNATION Pittsburgh, is set for 7:05 p.m.
