Washington Scores 16 Times, Clinches Weekend Series Win
JOLIET, Il. (May 9) – Behind a terrific offensive effort and solid middle relief, Washington built and maintained a big lead in Saturday’s middle game, winning it 16-6 to take the series and set itself up with a chance to sweep the Slammers Sunday afternoon. In the win, Washington got three homers, one from Kyle Edwards, one from Jeff Liquori and one, a grand slam, from Andrew Czech.
The Wild Things struck first for the third-consecutive night, as Andrew Czech walked to lead the second off. With two outs, Hunter Stokely notched his first professional hit to put two aboard for Kyle Edwards, who stepped up and on the 10th pitch of his plate appearance, hit his first professional home run to center, making it 3-0. Washington added a run in the third on an error on a throw toward third after Caleb Ketchup stole his second base of the frame. Ketchup’s run made it 4-0.
Joliet got to Andrew Herbert in the bottom half of the third and plated its first four runs of the game in that half on four hits. Herbert would settle back down and manage to get through five to earn his first win of the season in his season debut. Jeff Liquori homered in the fourth inning on the longest home run hit by a Wild Thing since at least 2024. His homer reached the middle of the roof of the building situated behind the right field wall and traveled 451 feet, according to Trackman.
Washington got two more in the fifth, scoring on an RBI fielder’s choice by Graham Brown and a sac fly by Liquori. The Things added a run in the sixth on an RBI knock by Anthony Brocato, making it 8-4 before Michael Foltz Jr. took over on the hill. He pitched two scoreless innings in his pro debut and earned his first pro strikeout. The Wild Things gave him insurance in the top of the seventh, scoring four more. With the bases loaded, Edwards doubled home a pair and Three Hillier and Caleb Ketchup added sac flies, making it 12-4.
A grand slam by Andrew Czech, who clubbed four grand slams last season as a league record, extended Washington’s lead to 16-4. The homer was Czech’s 88th of his pro career, pulling him into a tie with teammate Brocato for third on the Frontier League’s all-time charts.
Joliet plated two off Eliott Traver in the ninth to bring the game to its final of 16-6.
The Wild Things will send Ethan Brown to the mound tomorrow afternoon for a Mother’s Day Sunday afternoon affair. Shaun Gamelin will oppose him for the Slammers. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05/1:05 p.m. CDT.
The 24th season of Wild Things baseball in the MLB-partnered Frontier League is underway with the homer opener scheduled for Friday, May 15 against the Schaumburg Boomers at EQT Park. 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. Single game tickets are available now and the club’s promo schedule has been released. You can buy tickets here.
