Bats Stay Hot, Lead Held Late in Second Game of Week
PEARL, Ms. (Aug. 12) – After plating 10 runs in the opener of the week-long series in Mississippi Tuesday, Washington followed it with a 12-run performance, at one stage leading 10-0, on its way to a second-straight win to open the week in Pearl by a final of 12-9. Kyle Edwards’ four-hit night and six times on base along with Andrew Czech’s three-RBI and two hits highlighted the night offensively, while Drew Stegura took a no-hit bid into the seventh in his fourth pro start.
Washington struck for two in the first inning on an error and a fielder’s choice, with the latter crediting an RBI to Wagner Lagrange, his fourth of the series. The club added three in the third on a double steal allowing Kyle Edwards to score and two errant pitches, making it 5-0. A fourth-inning sac fly by Antonio Monroy and a single by Andrew Czech that brought home a run made it 7-0 Washington in the fourth and the Wild Things got another run-scoring single, this time for two tallies, by Czech in the fifth to make it 9-0.Anthony Brocato hit his 25th homer of the year to give the Wild Things a 10-0 lead in the seventh.
While all that happened on the offensive end, righty Drew Stegura was dominating a bit quietly on the other end. A second-inning walk was the only Mississippi baserunner through five against the 22-year-old rookie pitcher. He walked two and hit a batter in the sixth but escaped without a hit allowed, taking the bid to the seventh in his fourth professional start. The first two hitters to step in during the seventh reached on hits, a single and a double, ending the bid and chasing Stegura from the game. He did end up the winner to go to 2-0 after six innings of two-run ball with a strikeout.
Zander Sechrist relieved Stegura and saw both inherited runner score and one of his own before getting out of it with the lead at 10-3. The Mud Monsters scored three off Michael Foltz Jr. in the eighth to make it 10-6. Washington grabbed two back in the ninth to make it 12-6 with RBI from Connor Peek and Cole Fowler.
A costly error with two outs in the ninth allowed two runs to score for the Mud Monsters against Mack Anglin and a third came in to make it 12-9. With the tying run coming to the plate, Washington turned the ball over to closer Landon Ginn, who used two pitches to get a fly out to end the game and preserve the victory by three. It was his 12th save of the season.
Washington and Mississippi play the third game of the week’s set Thursday, August 13 at 7:30/6:30 p.m. CDT.
The win along with Windy City’s loss brought Washington’s playoff magic number down to 8. The team’s $50 pack of six undated regular season ticket vouchers and card for one ticket to every home playoff game is available still for purchase here.
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.
