The Washington Wild Things were a team without an identity after the first week of the season going 1-5 at Consol Energy Park.
The starting rotation did their job allowing only 12 runs over the first six games. The offense and bullpen, however, hadn’t found their stride as the offense scored 20 runs — 12 of those runs coming in two games — while the bullpen allowed 13 runs in that period.
“We haven’t been able to put it all together yet,” said Wild Things manager Bob Bozzuto. “I don’t think we’ve been consistent all the time. It takes time to see what you have in your team but even though we’ve had those issues, we’re still right there in the division.”
The team did turn it around once they hit the road going 6-3 against Normal, River City and Gateway ending with a five-game winning streak allowing the Wild Things to dig themselves out of an early hole in the division.
“We lost a lot of tough games,” said Wild Things pitcher Ernesto Zaragoza. “We just kept fighting. We stayed together and kept working and it’s starting to pay off.”
The road trip also helped the offense of second basemen Austin Wobrock, who started the season 0-for-18 during the opening homestand. He, like the team, recovered to bat .500 on the road while adding a walk-off single in game one of a double header against Rockford on Wednesday night.
Wobrock credits his turnaround to the aid of his teammates and coaching staff, who chose to stick with him despite his slow start.
“The guys have really helped me a lot,” said Wobrock. “This is a great team. I love being around them and they’ve stuck with me through the thick and the thin, so it was nice.”
Since that road trip, Washington has kept themselves within striking distance and Bozzuto believes that’s all they need to do to set them up for the home stretch.
“If you look at the standings, we’re right in the middle of the bunch,” said Bozzuto. “It’s all about who’s hot at the end of the year. We just have to survive through the middle section of the schedule.”
Baseball can be compared to a roller coaster. There will be highs and there will be lows, but it’s how a team reacts during those times that will determine their complete success. The Washington Wild Things are starting to find that success.
