Washington Falls in Sudden Death After 6.5 Real Time Hours Thursday
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 25) – On a soaked Thursday night, with over two-and-a-half hours of rain delays, the final game of the series finally took place between the Washington Wild Things and the Windy City Thunderbolts and by the time all was said and done, it was the ThunderBolts earning a series split of the four-gamer, with a 5-5 win in sudden death.
Zander Sechrist got the start for the Wild Things but only went 1.2 innings after multiple rain delays and warm-ups left him injured in the top of the second. After an empty first, the ThunderBolts still managed to score two in the top of the second after loading the bases with three singles, and an RBI single by Josue Urdaneta made it 1-0 ThunderBolts. Sechrist then walked the next batter, making it a two-run game.
Washington escaped the bases-loaded jam and limited the damage after Kelvin Perez forced a flyout to right field.
After an empty two innings to start the game, the Wild Things finally got on the board with a big bottom of the third inning. Second baseman Antonio Monroy got the inning started with a two-out single before ThunderBolt starting pitcher Blake Nettleton walked left fielder Jeff Sabater to put runners on first and second.
Caleb Ketchup brought the first run in with a one-run double to put runners on second and third to make it a one-run game. Nettleton then walked Andrew Czech to load the bases before right fielder Jeff Liquori followed with a bases-clearing double to right field to give the Wild Things the lead, making it a 4-2 game.
The Wild Things would extend their lead to three runs after catcher Isaias Quiroz homered to left field in the next inning, in the bottom of the fourth, making it 5-2 Washington.
Washington's bats would then go cold as they couldn't add any more insurance for the rest of the game. Wind City cut Washington's lead to three after they hit three-straight singles in the top of the fifth, including an RBI single by Jared Beebe to make it a 5-3 game.
After a quiet six innings for both teams, a one-run double by ThunderBolts right fielder Carlos Pena cut Washington's lead to one in the top of the seventh. Windy City would then tie the game in the top of the eighth inning after second baseman Josue Urdaneta hit a one-run single to tie the game.
Both teams would go scoreless in the ninth and 10th innings, forcing the game to go into sudden death. The Wild Things got to bat for sudden death but failed to score the winning run, letting the Wind City win from behind.
With the loss, the Wild Things fall to 28-13 and look to rebound tomorrow with the first game of a three-game series against the Joliet Slammers. With the win, the Windy City ThunderBolts move to 22-18 on the season and stay undefeated in extra innings and sudden death. The game's final runtime was six hours and 24 minutes; real time was three hours and 43 minutes.
Washington opens a four-game set with Joliet Friday, with postgame fireworks planned presented by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh. First pitch is slated for 7:05 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.
