On a night where Shawn Smith had a stellar performance on the mound, the Wild Things offense came alive with three home runs to propel one of the league’s hottest teams to a 6-1 victory.
The Wild Things started the night out early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. After a groundout to start the inning, CJ Beatty reached on a single. Two pitches later Jovan Rosa drove him in on a two-run home run to give Washington a two-run lead. Later in the inning, Stewart Ijames drove in Rogelio Noris on an RBI single to bring the lead to 3-0 going into the second.
In the bottom of the second, Darian Sandford scored on an error by the Otters catcher. Sandford stole second and third during the exchange, his 24th and 25th stolen base of the year, before coming home on a bad throw by Otters catcher John Nester.
The Otters would pick up their first run in the top of the 5th off of Ryan Kresky fielder’s choice.
During the 7th inning the Wild Things would add to their lead. Shain Stoner and Beatty hit back-to-back- solo jacks to bring the final score to 6-1. Beatty’s was one of the great plays of baseball, an inside the parker.
Smith scattered six hits through his seven innings of work but was able to keep the damage minimal, only allowing one run during his time on the mound.
Matt Phillips and Zach Fleshman each added one inning of work, both allowing two hits with Phillips striking out two.
Ijames finished with three hits in four at-bats, driving in one run. Beatty, Rosa, and Sandford each tallied two hits, with Rosa driving in two runs on the home run.
Sandford continues to lead the league in stolen bases with 25 now on the season.
The Wild Things will play the Otters again tomorrow night at 7:05 pm ET at Console Energy Park.
Photo Credit: WashingtonWildThings.com
