An error in the top of the 10th inning kept the Washington Wild Things from improving on their season as they fell, 3-2, to the Windy City Thunderbolts Sunday at CONSOLE Energy Park.
Going into the 10th inning, Washington and Windy City were deadlocked, 2-2.
Windy City shortstop Mike Torres advanced to first and then second on an error by Wild Things third baseman Carter Bell. During the next at-bat, Ryan Soares singled off of Zac Fuesser, bringing Torres home for the go-ahead run.
In the bottom half of the inning, Washington couldn’t complete the comeback and went down in order.
Windy City started out on top after Kyle Robinson pounded an RBI double in the top of the first inning. Robinson would be called safe on a fielder’s choice later in the third inning while a run scored, putting Washington down 2-0.
But the Wild Things would retaliate in the bottom half of the inning when Vahalik doubled and later scored on a wild pitch and again in the bottom of the fifth when Vahalik scored on a fielder’s choice, knotting the game at two apiece.
On the mound, Shawn Blackwell pitched 7.0 innings, getting a no-decision after allowing two runs on six hits. Fuesser would take the loss after pitching the tenth. At the plate, Vahalik went 2-for-3 and scored both runs.
Earlier in the series, Washington won two close games starting with a walkoff win Friday night.
In the bottom of the 11th inning of a tie game, Stewart Ijames drove in Garrett Rau with a double to give the Wild Things the victory. Earlier in the game, the two teams traded runs in the first and eighth innings, with CJ Beatty tying the game up after with a two-run home run with his team trailing, 3-1. On the mound, Scott Dunn (1-1) pitched 7.0 innings, including six scoreless innings, giving up one run off of just three hits to take a no decision. Reliever Alfonso Yevoli pitched the final two outs in the ninth to take the win. Beatty led the way offensively, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
On Saturday, Washington again won a close battle, beating Windy City, 2-1.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Washington took a 2-1 lead on a Daniel Poma RBI single and Rau RBI double. It would be all the run support that starting pitcher Alex Kaminsky (1-0) would need, picking up the win after 6.1 innings of work. Kaminsky gave up one run on six hits, striking out five and walking just one. At the plate, Poma went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Rau also went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Washington is back in action Tuesday when it travels to take on Traverse City.
Photo Credit: Washington Wild Things Facebook
