Vaeth Wins 300th, Czech Sets Career Walks Record, Wild Things Win Middle Game
AVON, Ohio (May 30) – The Wild Things took Saturday’s middle game in Avon at ForeFront Field, knocking off the Crushers, 5-2. The win saw manager Tom Vaeth win his 300th game in the 499th game he managed as a pro baseball skipper and the manager of the Wild Things. It also saw Hector Garcia, the reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Week, twirl Washington’s seventh-straight quality start.
Garcia was brilliant over seven frames of one-run ball. He scattered seven hits and matched a career-high, set last time out, with six strikeouts. The lone blemish was a solo homer allowed to former Wild Thing Pavin Parks in the fifth with two outs. Garcia moves to 3-0 on the season and still holds an ERA under 1.00 at 0.90 in 20 innings. He has surrendered two runs.
He got the support Washington needed in the third, an inning that saw the Wild Things plate four runs. With two strikes and two outs, plus the bases full of Wild Things, Cole Fowler stroked a three-run double to left-center, making it 3-0. Fowler scored a batter later on Caleb Ketchup’s RBI single. Ketchup picked up his fourth outfield assist in the first inning, gunning down Parks trying to advance on a flyout. He ended up with a multi-hit night.
Washington scored its fifth run on a two-base wild pitch in the seventh as Ryan Ford came in on it. Lake Erie tallied a ninth inning run on a homer by Alfredo Gonzalez to cut the lead to 5-2 but it was all the closer the Crushers got, as Michael Foltz Jr. finished his two-inning outing with a strikeout of Jarrod Watkins to secure the win.
Tonight’s game also saw Andrew Czech walk four times, with the second setting the new franchise record at 329, which grew to 331 walks in Czech’s career by the end of the evening.
Washington is now 14-6 and looks for its third sweep of the season (home opening weekend against Schaumburg and two-game, rain-shortened series versus Joliet) tomorrow. Colt Anderson will toe the rubber for the Wild Things after being activated from the 7-Day Injured List. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The 24th season of Wild Things baseball in the MLB-partnered Frontier League is underway with more great baseball and entertainment to come. 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.
Go Wild at washingtonwildthings.com.
