FL Washington Wild Things

Washington and Lake Erie Both Win One-Run Ends of DH

Published on August 18, 2021 under Frontier League (FL)
Washington Wild Things News Release


WASHINGTON, Pa. - Behind six shutout innings from Ben Vicini and a third-inning run-scoring single by Andrew Sohn, the Wild Things took the first of six games in five days against the Lake Erie Crushers in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader at Wild Things Park.

Scotty Dubrule extended his on-base streak to 27 games with a first-inning walk and Washington boarded two on base in the first but didn't score. Hector Roa tripled to start the second but left third too early trying to tag up and was removed from the basepaths by appeal.

Sohn's single scored the only run of the game in the third inning of the contest, as Joe Campagna scored after singling to lead the inning off for Washington.

What little happened offensively was outshone by Ben Vicini's start. The West Shamokin High School and Seton Hill University product went six scoreless innings to move to 6-0. He fanned six, didn't walk a batter and allowed just two hits. He also faced the minimum through his innings. Zach Strecker picked up his 15th save of the season with a scoreless seventh inning. He allowed a hit but a double play washed that runner away. Strecker's save is the 67th of his career, putting him three off a tie for the all-time Frontier League career saves record, held by Eric Massingham at 70.

For the Wild Things, it's the third time in team history that the Wild Things' pitching staff faced the minimum through the contest. The most notable of the other two was Matt Sergey's 2014 perfect game. Jeff Sonnenberg did it against Lake Erie, July 29, 2010 in nine innings of work. Sonnenberg allowed two hits and fanned two. Washington made an error in that contest as well but turned two double plays and threw a runner out trying to score.

WASHINGTON, Pa. (August 18, Game 2) - With a two-run seventh inning Lake Erie secured a lead and didn't let it go in the nightcap of the doubleheader, earning a doubleheader split with Washington by a final of 3-2.

Lake Erie was able to break through in the run column first in the second game of the doubleheader when Zach Racusin, who started the season with Windy City and made his return to Lake Erie in game one Wednesday, hit a solo home run to lead off the game. It was his first of the season.

The Wild Things responded in the home half when Bralin Jackson lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game and score Andrew Sohn, who had walked and went to third on a base hit by Tristan Peterson. It was Jackson's 50th RBI of the year.

McKenzie Mills, Washington's starter, struck out the final two batters of the third and fourth innings with at least one Crushers aboard to dance out of trouble without allowing the tie to be broken. Washington put runners at first and third in the fourth but failed to score. In the third though, Scotty Dubrule walked to extend his on-base streak to 28 games to start his pro career, which matches Chuck Taylor for the longest on-base streak this season by a player in the Frontier League. Taylor's is not active.

Mills got an out in the fifth before being lifted in favor of Steven Colon. Mills tossed 4.1 innings of one-run ball, allowed three hits, walked three and fanned five. Colon allowed a single but left the Crushers' runless through five. Dubrule singled with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to chase Sam Curtis from the game. The hit extended Dubrule's hit streak to 12 games. Washington did not score in that frame.

Hector Roa's flare to right scored Bralin Jackson in the sixth and gave Washington a 2-1 lead but it didn't last long. After struggling most of the night in key spots offensively, the Crushers came through in the seventh to avoid defeat. Lake Erie scored twice off Zach Strecker in the frame with hits by Racusin and Connor Oliver. JT Perez closed the game in the bottom half of the seventh with a zero.

The series concludes tomorrow with the series finale at Wild Things Park before the teams head to Avon to start a series at Mercy Health Stadium Friday night. First pitch Thursday is slated for 7:05 p.m. in Washington. Secure tickets at wildthingstickets.com.

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Frontier League Stories from August 18, 2021


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