When the Washington Wild Things saw themselves down 5-1 going into the bottom of the third inning in front of a home crowd of 1,504 fans Sunday evening, Mark Samuelson considered it a challenge. That challenge was one that he accepted as he drove in 6 RBI’s, tying Ernie Banks (no, not that Ernie Banks) for the single-game record for RBI’s in a game. The final result turned out to be a 10-8 victory for the Washington Wild Things over the Florence Freedom.
Going into the 3rd inning, the Wild Things trailed 2-1 after a 2-run shot by Byron Wiley put the Freedom ahead. In the top of the 3rd, starting pitcher Gary Lee caught some bad breaks. After two errors and a passed ball, the Freedom took a 5-1 lead. They wouldn’t have it long, though, as the Wild Things bats’ came alive in the home half.
Shortstop AJ Nunziato started the inning off with a single. CJ Beatty and Quicy Latimore would then follow that with a single a piece, loading the bases for Samuelson. On the third pitch he saw, Samuelson blasted a pitch over the outfield wall for a game-tying grand slam.
Lee would only last five more batters before coming out of the game. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up 7 runs, 4 earned, on just 8 hits.
With an 8-6 lead going into the bottom of the 8th inning, the Florence Freedom would never see the lead again.
After a one out single put Nunziato at first base, Beatty drove him in with a double and his third RBI of the game. Latimore drew a walk as the next batter, and was driven in on a Samuelson double, giving him his sixth and final RBI of the night and giving the Wild Things the lead. Stewart Ijames would drive Samuelson in on an RBI single for an insurance run.
Samuelson finished 2-4 with 6 RBIs and a grand slam, giving him 30 RBIs and 11 home runs on the year. Nunziato went 4-5 and led the Wild Things with 3 runs scored. Beatty went 3-3 with 3 RBIs, and Latimore went 2-3 with 2 walks.
The Wild Things are back in action Tuesday night against the Gateway Grizzlies at 7:05 pm ET from CONSOLE Energy Field. If you’re going to the game, bring your dog for Bark-in-the-Park night. For more details, visit washingtonwildthings.com.
Photo Credit: Washington Wild Things
