FLWC Game 2 Primer
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Sept. 11) – After a Game 1 victory Wednesday night in Florence, the Wild Things return for Friday’s Game 2 of the 2026 Frontier League Midwest Conference Wild Card Round against the Y’alls with a chance to sweep the best-of-three set and advance to the Conference Championship Series tonight at 7:05 p.m. when Florence and Washington play in front of a Black Out at EQT Park.
If the series doesn’t end tonight with a Washington win, the two would meet in a winner-take-all Game 3 tomorrow night, Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
Washington got a quality start from Zach Kirby Wednesday, as he allowed just a seventh-inning solo homer for one of two hits scattered over seven innings in what was his fourth career Frontier League Playoff start. Kirby fanned seven Y’alls and held a top-5 league offense in check his entire outing. The Y’alls got two unearned runs in the eighth off Colt Anderson, who got a would-be inning-ending grounder against Hank Zeisler, but an error allowed the inning to roll on and Zade Richardson, who hit the homer off Kirby in the seventh, poked home two with a double. That allowed Florence to bring the tying run out on deck but a strikeout by Kenten Egbert ended the threat before Mack Anglin finished the job in the ninth for the Wild Things around a pair of singles.
The Wild Things struck first and often in Game 1, scoring twice in the second on RBI knocks by Connor Peek and Isaias Quiroz. The scoring then halted until the seventh inning, when Cole Fowler homered for the first of his two RBI on the first pitch of the frame. Later in the seventh, Miles Simington singled home Caleb Ketchup, who had been hit by a pitch and went to second on a sac bunt by Quiroz. Washington drew four-straight walks to start the eighth to plate a run when Fowler was the fourth walk in the string before adding two a few batters later on a two-run single by Quiroz, which made it 7-1 before the Richardson double in the bottom half. Jeff Liquori added an eighth-inning single to plate Washington’s eighth run in the win.
The win gave Washington a perfect 7-for-7 record in games this season at Thomas More Stadium against the Y’alls and two chances to advance to the Frontier League Midwest Conference Championship Series this weekend.
Jonaiker Villalobos is no stranger to the Wild Things and will get the ball for the Y’alls in Game 2 to start. Villalobos is one of three Y’alls with prior Frontier League playoff experience. He was on the last Y’alls group to make the dance in 2021. Villalobos, a southpaw from Venezuela, was 4-6 this season with a 5.32 ERA in 18 starts. Across 91.1 innings, he allowed 109 hits and 61 runs (54 earned) with 44 walks and 74 strikeouts. He’s pitched three times this season against the Wild Things and plenty more in his Frontier League career, which is split between Florence and Lake Erie (in 2023). The lefty was 0-3 this season against Washington and totaled 14.1 innings in the three starts, allowing 15 runs (10 earned) on 15 hits and nine walks with 17 strikeouts.
The Wild Things will counter with the 2026 Frontier League Pitcher of the Year in southpaw Kobe Foster, who is set for his fifth career Frontier League Playoff start. He last pitched in Game 2 of the 2025 Wild Card series and suffered the loss, allowing four runs over five innings against the Gateway Grizzlies at home. Over his career, he’s 2-2 with a 5.23 ERA in the playoffs, totaling 20.2 innings with 12 runs against him, six of which were in his playoff debut back in 2022 at Schaumburg. This season, Foster was 10-3 with a save in 99.2 innings and sported a league-best 2.35 ERA. He struck out 86 against 23 walks and saw the Y’alls twice: once here in Washington and once in Florence, just a few weeks ago. Kobe is 6-0 in 11 games (10 starts) against Florence in his career with a 0.73 ERA across 62 innings. That success includes a shutout of the Y’alls on June 5 at EQT Park this year, where he fanned eight, walked one and allowed three hits, a week before tossing the fourth no-hitter in team history against New Jersey.
Pre-game introductions will begin at approximately 6:50 p.m. with a moment of silence prior to the performance of the anthem to honor and remember the lives lost, the responding heroes and the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Fans are asked to wear black in support of the team’s Black Out effort and to bring the energy all night long as Washington looks to move on in the 2026 Frontier League Playoffs.
Fans who aren’t signed up for a subscription to the Frontier League Network, powered by HTN, can save 20% on a monthly subscription to the service by using FLPLAYOFFS26 at checkout at www.frontierleaguetv.com. Tonight’s broadcast is also available on MixLR at https://www.bit.ly/wtmixlr.
Playoff tickets for the Wild Card round are on sale now by clicking here and are $5 apiece. Washington will host Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12 (if necessary) in the best of three against Florence. Division championship shirts are also available for pre-order here. The Wild Things will host a BLACK OUT Friday, September 11 for Game 2 of the series.
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.
