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FL Washington Wild Things

Wild Things Come Back to Beat Rippers

July 22, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Washington Wild Things News Release


WASHINGTON, Pa - Public address announcer Bill DiFabio often refers to CONSOL Energy Park as the "House of Thrills." Sunday night, the ballpark on the hill lived up to its famed name as the Washington Wild Things, presented by Washington Financial, battled all evening long in a back-and-forth battle that ended with a 6-5 Wild Things victory.

Washington Starter Eric Blackwell kept the Wild Things close going five innings, giving up three runs on two hits while walking six.

The offense remained persistent, continuously rallying back until they took the lead for the final time in the ninth.

Rick Devereaux put Washington ahead early with an RBI double down the left field line to score A.J. Nunziatio. Nunziato reached on a four-pitch walk with two outs in the first.

London retaliated and took the lead in the third with two runs, courtesy of a walk and an RBI triple by Tyler Hall that scored Matt Wright. Hall scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Stephen Cardullo

The Wild Things countered in the bottom of the frame getting a one out double from Nunziato, who was then driven in by Stoner, for his team leading 30th RBI.

The back-and-forth would not end there, as London, once again recaptured the lead in the fourth, only to see it evaporate an inning later when Washington pulled even in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout from Devereaux that scored Gus Benusa that tied the score at three.

Again, London battled back with a triple from Justino Cuevas that plated the go-ahead run to put the Rippers ahead 4-3.

The Rippers' fourth extra base hit of the night drove in the fifth run for London, making the score 5-3 in the eighth.

That's when London manager David Martin made a decision that changed the entire game, choosing to replace starter Matt Sommo, who had limited the Wild Things to three runs on seven hits, with Chris Wooten to close things out.

Two walks and a single loaded the bases for the Wild Things in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Wild Things were in business.

That brought up Andrew Heck, who had struggled in his previous ten games, posting just a .114 average in that span.

Patience at the plate was key for Heck in a seven-pitch at-bat, working a walk that drove in a run to cut the London lead to one.

If Heck was perhaps the Things coldest bat, his walk brought up the hottest as Gus Benusa ripped a 2-2 offering from new hurler Tony Delmonico over the head of third baseman Stephen Cardullo and down the line to plate Will Arnold and Robbie Garvey to send the crowd of 1,883 in to a pre-fireworks frenzy.

Orlando Santos earned the win for the Wild Things, his first of the year.

The Wild Things and Rippers are back in action tomorrow evening at CONSOL Energy Park in game two of the series. Chris Smith will take the mound for the Wild Things opposite Brandon Sinnery for London. Tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting www.washingtonwildthings.com, stopping by the CONSOL Energy Park box office, or by calling 866-456-WILD.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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