May 21, 2015 4 min read

Bob Bozzuto sat down in the chair behind his desk, shook his head then sighed.

It was either that or punch a wall.

For the first time since he was named the Wild Things manager last August, Bozzuto had the look of a guy in need of a family sized bottle of Rolaids. He was the picture of a man simmering in his own stomach acid.

That’s what happens when your baseball team is held to one hit over the final six innings and squanders a two-run lead when it’s one out from a needed victory.

Evansville’s Ronnie Richardson tied the game with a two-out, two-run triple in the top of the ninth inning, and former Pitt standout John Schultz continued to be a Wild Things killer as he followed with a two-run homer as the Otters rallied for a stunning 5-3 victory Thursday night at Consol Energy Park.

The Wild Things concluded their season-opening homestand with a 1-5 record and the feeling that they gave away four potential wins.

“I’m not very happy,” Bozzuto said firmly.

Another bullpen meltdown and an offense that went into shutdown mode after the third inning were the culprits on this night. Washington led 3-1 in the third and the score held until two outs in the top of the ninth.

The Wild Things’ Steve Messner, who was working his second inning of relief, quickly retired Kurt Wertz for the first out of the ninth before the inning and game began to unravel. Messner walked Josh Allen but struck out Jaime Del Valle to put Washington one out away from a win. Cory Urquhart, the No. 9 batter in the Evansville lineup, then drew another walk.

Bozzuto called upon reliever Pat Butler (0-3) to replace Messner and pitch to the right-handed hitting Richardson, who was only 1-for-10 in the series. Richardson went the opposite way with Butler’s first pitch for a perfectly placed triple down the right-field line that scored Allen and Urquhart to tie the score at 3-3.

Three pitches later, Schultz also went the opposite way and lofted a game-winning two-run homer over the left-field wall, just over a leaping attempt for a catch by the Wild Things’ C.J. Beatty.

“Messner really is one of the best lefties I’ve seen in this league – he mowed us down in the eighth inning – and for some of our younger guys to get on base against him in the ninth and allow the top of our order to come to the plate was good to see,” Evansville manager Andy McCauley said.

Reliever Blake Molnar (2-0) faced one batter in the eighth inning to get the win. Edgar Lopez pitched the ninth for his third save.

Evansville managed to stay within striking distance because of starter Will Oliver, who allowed only four hits and struck out 11 over seven innings.

Lopez spent most of the night trying to overcome two at-bats: a triple to lead off the bottom of the first inning by Danny Poma and a two-run homer by David Popkins in the third that gave Washington a 3-1 lead. Poma’s hit down the left-field line kicked off a pole on the gate to the old bullpen and bounced away from Schultz. Poma scored on a sacrifice fly by Beatty.

Popkins’ home run looked like it might stand as the game’s key at-bat. Washington starter Luke Wilkins, a native of Australia who was pitching for the first time in the United States, allowed only one run over five innings. Matt Purnell followed with two strong innings of relief.

“Luke did a great job and Matt did a great job,” Bozzuto said. “The bottom line is we issued too many walks. We have to make good pitches. Three runs should have been good enough to win this game, but we do need to score more runs.”

If Washington is going to turn around this ugly start to the season, it will have to take corrective measures on the road and in some ballparks that have not been kind to the Wild Things over the years. Washington begins a nine-game road trip tonight at Normal. The trip also includes stops at River City and Gateway. It’s the Wild Things’ first nine-game road trip since 2011.

“We have a lot of experienced guys in this clubhouse. It is what it is. We have put ourselves in this hole and we have to get out of it. I trust these guys and I expect them to be on the right side. The bottom line is we have to get the job done.”