Wild Things Use Big Start to Finale in Series-Clinching Win
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Aug. 6) – The Washington Wild Things took care of business to secure a series victory over the Down East Bird Dawgs by a score of 7-4 at EQT Park on Thursday night.
The Wild Things got out to an early lead scoring in each of the first four innings. They had a comfortable 7-0 lead after the fifth inning, backed by a strong pitching performance by the brand-new Wild Thing, Kenten Egbert. In his Wild Things debut, Egbert tossed five scoreless innings of two-hit baseball, allowing one walk and striking out four.
Andrew Czech ripped a double into the left-center field gap, scoring Ryan Ford to open the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. The Wild Things would plate two more in the bottom of the second inning, adding to their lead with an Antonio Monroy RBI single followed by a Ford RBI groundout. In the bottom of the third inning, Jeff Liquori clubbed his 12th home run of the season, scoring Czech and extending the Wild Things lead to 5-0.
Short pitching, the Bird Dawgs put in position player Trotter Harlan to pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning trialing 6-0. Cole Fowler led off the inning with a double, followed by an RBI single from Billy Sullivan which extended the Wild Things lead 7-0.
In the top of the sixth inning, Zander Sechrist would toe the rubber in relief of Egbert. Sechrist threw three innings, giving up one run (earned) on five hits and no walks while striking out two. Liquori adds to his big game as he brought back a fly ball by Bird Dawgs’ Christian Adams, robbing him of a two-run homer. Liquori was on base three times, going 2-3 with a walk, the long ball and three RBI.
The Bird Dawgs would make it interesting by plating a run in the eighth and three runs in the ninth, but Wild Things pitcher Branden Noriega was able to shut the door to close out the game.
Washington will turn its attention to an important weekend series with the Evansville Otters at EQT Park, which begins tomorrow on a Fireworks Friday presented by the Pennsylvania Lottery. It’s also Back to School Night presented by Washington Area FCU. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. with Kobe Foster scheduled to make the start in the opener.
The 24th season of Wild Things baseball in the MLB-partnered Frontier League is underway with more great baseball and entertainment to come. For updates, other information and more, visit washingtonwildthings.com or follow the team on social media at facebook.com/WashingtonWildThings or @WashWildThings on other platforms.
Go Wild at washingtonwildthings.com.
