FL Washington Wild Things

Wild Things Hold on to Beat Lake Erie 1-0

Published on September 1, 2011 under Frontier League (FL)
Washington Wild Things News Release


Eric Stephens' solo home run in the eighth was the difference, as the Washington Wild Things, presented by Washington Financial, snapped a seven game losing streak on Thursday night, defeating Lake Erie, 1-0 at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Lake Erie starter Thomas Campbell had a shaky beginning, walking two and hitting a batter in his first two innings. However, he settled in, allowing three hits and no runs through five innings of work. Not to be outdone, Chris Smith, the Wild Things' starting pitcher, allowed just one hit through seven innings, while striking out six. Going back to Smith's last outing against Joliet, he has allowed just two hits total in his last twelve innings pitched.

The Crushers had their best chance to score in the 7th. With Kullen Kulbacki on first and two outs, Kyle Schaffer hit a grounder to Washington third baseman Ryan Ditthardt. Ditthardt fielded it clean, but threw the ball away, extending the inning, allowing Kulbacki to scamper to third. Fortunately, Smith kept his composure on the mound and induced a flyout to end the inning.

The contest remained deadlocked until the 8th inning, when Eric Stephens crushed an 0-1 Paul Daniels offering for his deciding home run. The clout was Stephens' 7th home run of the season. He had entered the game in the second inning, after Chris Sidick left with an apparent injury.

Steve Grife pitched a perfect eighth, including a pair of strikeouts, setting the stage for Taylor Wulf to pick up his twelfth save of the season. Wulf delivered, shutting down the middle of the Crushers lineup, ending the Wild Things season-long losing streak.

The Wild Things' victory sent Lake Erie (49-43) a half game behind Traverse City for the second playoff spot out of the Eastern Division. The Wild Things (40-52) will be back in action on Friday night, when they begin their final series of the season against the Windy City ThunderBolts. Pre-game coverage on 95.3 WJPA-FM will begin at 7:55 pm, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05.

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Frontier League Stories from September 1, 2011


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