Rookie Cody Herald came to the plate with a different mental approach on Saturday evening and it paid off as his two-double, 4 RBI performance helped the Washington Wild Things cruise by the Evansville Otters 7-2 at CONSOL Energy Park.
Herald paced the Wild Things (39-50) with a bases-clearing double in the second and another RBI double in the third. It was a welcome change for the designated hitter, who changed his mental approach after a chat with his father.
“I’ve been struggling some at the plate and I’ve been talking to my father about it,” said Herald. “He was asking me about what my thought process was. He suggested that my thought process should be to hit my pitch if it’s in the zone and not worry what type of pitch it is. I found out that I was in the lineup today and just took that approach. I may have gotten into some deep counts, but I took some good swings and found my timing.”
The early runs, once again, helped Matt Fraudin (3-2) get into his rhythm after allowing another first inning run. The Pittsburgh native allowed six hits and one run after the first while recording ten outs via groundout and four by strikeout.
Fraudin recorded a quick first out of the eighth, but allowed back-to-back singles ending his night. Steve Messner relieved the starter and recorded three-straight strikeouts before allowing a one out walk in the ninth. He then induced a double play on a ground ball to second to end things.
Saturday’s victory is the 700th in the Washington franchises history which began play in 2002.
Starters Lines
(WAS) Fraudin (W, 3-2): 7.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s. 92 Pitches (56 Strikes).
(EV) Walsh (L, 8-7): 6 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K’s, 1 WP, 1 HR. 109 Pitches (68 Strikes).
(Photo Credit: Washington Wild Things)
