Washington Walks Off Winners in Series Opener Against Freedom
WASHINGTON, Pa. (May 25) – With the game tied at 3 and one out in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, catcher Kyle Pollock was greeted at the plate by a new Florence pitcher. Johnathon Tripp went 3-0 to Pollock before delivering a strike and then a fly ball to left field by Pollock. On the fly ball, center fielder James Harris tagged and scored, as the Wild Things walked off the Freedom tonight in the series opener 4-3.
The win moved the Wild Things to 7-6 on the season, while the Freedom fell to 8-5.
Following a scoreless first inning, Washington opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second. After a single by right fielder Hector Roa and a walk to first baseman Reydel Medina, designated hitter Austin Crutcher hit an infield fly that advanced Roa to third base when the Freedom defense did not cover third. Third baseman Mike Hill immediately made Florence pay for the defensive lapse, singling in Roa to give the Wild Things a 1-0 lead. Shortstop Justin Bohn followed up with a RBI double to extend the lead to 2-0.
Washington starting pitcher Frank Trimarco kept the Freedom in check, tossing six innings and allowing just one run on four hits. The lefty struck out four batters and did not allow a walk.
Florence finally got on the board in the top of the seventh. Second baseman Xavier Turner led off the inning with a base hit, which knocked Trimarco out of the game as the Wild Things brought in Davis Adkins in relief. After an throwing error on a stolen base attempt advanced Turner to third base, designated hitter Keivan Berges scored Turner with a groundout to second base to cut the Freedom deficit to one.
The Wild Things pushed the lead back to two in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI single off Freedom starting pitcher Jordan Kraus by second baseman Carter McEachern that scored Harris, who tripled to right center in the at bat prior. Kraus completed his night by tossing seven innings, allowing three runs and striking out three batters.
With reliever Sam Mersing coming in for the eighth inning for Washington, Florence continued to battle its way back into the game. After a double and a single to start the inning, Freedom third baseman Jose Brizuela knocked in left fielder Brandon Pugh with a groundout to second base. Later in the frame, Turner legged out an infield single to shortstop, which scored right fielder Connor Crane to tie the game at 3-3 before Mersing got a groundout to end the inning.
After two scoreless half innings, the Wild Things came to bat in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game without having to go to extras. With one out in the inning, Harris and McEachern singled consecutively to knock reliever Tyler Gibson, who took the loss, out of the game as the Freedom brought in left-hander Mike Castellani to face left fielder Roman Collins. Castellani walked Collins to load the bases to set up Pollock’s heroics on the ensuing at bat against Tripp.
Zach Strecker (1-0) earned the win in relief following a scoreless, hitless ninth inning. Medina finished the evening a perfect 3-3 with a walk, run scored and two stolen bases. McEachern completed his strong night, going 3-5 with an RBI. As a team, Washington collected 12 hits.
The Wild Things and Freedom will continue their three-game set tomorrow evening, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05.
