A lightning strike during last week’s storms knocked power out to one of the light poles at CONSOL Energy Park, but it seemed to electrify the Wild Things bats as they touched the plate thirteen times in a 13-4 rout of the Southern Illinois Miners on Tuesday night.
Washington (12-16) was paced by Lee Orr’s two home run, five RBI night which started in the third inning when the Wild Things put an eight-spot on Miners starter Jarrett Miller (0-1).
Miller allowed two walks a single and two hit batsmen before Scott Kalamar — who signed with the team earlier in the day — cleared the bases with a 3 RBI triple.
The rout continued when Orr hit his first homer of the day and was followed by a David Popkins solo shot.
Orr added a three-run shot in the sixth to cap off a 2-for-3 night.
“I was just waiting for a good pitch,” said Orr. “I knew I wasn’t going to be getting a fastball the first time. He threw three breaking balls and I got a good read on the first two and the third was right over the plate . I tried to hit a line drive on that one and it went out.”
The thirteen runs were more than enough for Wild Things starter Ernesto Zaragoza (3-1), who allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three.
Southern Illinois (17-11) took a quick 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run home run by Frank Martinez. Zaragoza then settled down allowing one run on three hits over the next 5.1 innings.
“Ernesto gave up the quick two runs then settled down nicely,” said Wild Things manager Bob Bozzuto. “He got behind in the count early on, but recovered well.”
It’s the Wild Things third win in their last four games after falling in seven of their previous ten games.
The two teams will make a quick turnaround as they will play game two of the three-game series Wednesday morning with first pitch slated at 10:35 am.
Starters Lines
(WAS) Zaragoza (W, 3-1): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R , 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K’s, 1 HR. 105 Pitches (64 Strikes).
(SI) Miller (L, 0-1): 2.1 IP, 4 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K’s 3 HBP, 2 HR. 62 Pitches (30 Strikes).
(Photo Credit: Washington Wild Things)
