Wild Things Club Five Homers in Middle-Game Win
WASHINGTON, Pa. (August 21) – The Washington Wild Things broke out the lumber by slugging five home runs in tonight’s 8-2 victory over the Joliet Slammers.
Malik Barrington got the start for Washington, looking to bounce back from last week's outing against the Joliet Slammers. Tonight in seven innings of work, he allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine, which is one off his career high, set at 10 earlier this season
Caleb McNeely got the Wild Things offense going early with a first-pitch home run in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0. Joliet would get that run right back and later take the lead in the top of the second on an RBI triple by Jeissy De La Cruz and an RBI single by Brandon Heidal to make 2-1 Slammers.
Washington tied the game up in the bottom of the second on a RBI single by Cole Roberts that plated Brandon McIlwain, who had tripled with one out. Then, the Wild Things took the lead in the bottom of the third on back-to-back home runs by Tyreque Reed and Wagner Lagrange to get ahead 4-2.
The Wild Things added on in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Tyreque Reed, his second of the game and a three-run home run by Brandon McIlwain to make it 8-2 Wild Things. Marlon Perez came in to close out the last two innings to finish the Wild Things win.
The five homers for Washington were the most in a single game this season, passing the previous high of three, which Washington had managed nine times already. McNeely, Reed, Lagrange and McIlwain all had two hits in the win, which was Washington’s 59th of the season, four off the franchise record of 63 in 95 games in 2005. Washington has 10 games left and owns, following its game tonight, a West Division magic number of five.
The Wild Things will look for the series sweep tomorrow night against the Slammers as Kobe Foster will take the mound for Washington against Jake Armstrong for Joliet at 7:05 p.m.
