Jul 7, 2018 4 min read

The Wild Things turned Saturday night to its all-star pitching combination of starter Thomas Dorminy and closer Zach Strecker and the duo proved to be a winning pair.

Dorminy didn’t allow an earned run over 7 2/3 innings and Strecker got the final four outs as Washington defeated the Evansville Otters 8-3 before 2,370 at Wild Things Park.

The win assured Washington of being no worse than tied for first place in the Frontier League’s East Division when the all-star break begins after today’s games. The Wild Things led second-place Joliet by one game entering Saturday. The Slammers played at River City.

Washington scored four runs in the second inning and that was all the support Dominy (7-2) and Strecker needed. Dorminy scattered seven hits and did not issue a walk. He matched his career high with 10 strikeouts, which included five of the last six batters he faced.

Strecker got his his 11th save and lowered his ERA to 0.63.

The only runs Evansville scored were unearned after an error in the third inning.

Brett Marr, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, led the Wild Things’ offense, going 3-for-4 with a triple, three runs and two RBI. Carter McEachern drove in two runs and Roman Collins had two doubles among his three hits.

McEachern and Collins had consecutive run-scoring doubles when the Wild Things broke open the game with a two-run eighth inning.

Each team had a sloppy inning defensively early in the game and it led to seven runs. Washington took advantage of a walk by Evansville starter Austin Nicely (3-3) and two errors by the Otters in the second inning to score four runs on only two hits. Evansville responded with three unearned runs in the top of the third against Dorminy to pull to within 4-3.

Washington scored its first run as Hector Roa reached on a two-base throwing error and scored when Mike Hill followed with a single up the middle. After a walk by first baseman Conner Simonetti, Marr tripled into the gap in right centerfield, driving in Hill and Simonetti. When the relay throw skipped past the Otters’ third baseman, Marr raced home with the run that gave the Wild Things a 4-0 lead.

A line-drive single by Joe DeLuca and a bunt single by Hunter Cullen started the Otters’ third. David Cronin then reached when Marr, the Wild Things’ shortstop, booted a grounder that loaded the bases. A grounded by Toby Thomas scored the Otters’ first run and Jeff Gardner’s two-out, two-run single back up the middle made it 4-3.

Washington gave Dorminy some margin for error by scoring single runs in the third and sixth innings. Collins and Kyle Pollock hit consecutive doubles to start the bottom of the third and a sacrifice fly by McEachern chased home Marr to make it 6-3 in the sixth.

The Wild Things’ sixth run came moments after Dorminy had wiggled out of the key stretch of the game, a bases-loaded and no-outs jam in the top of the sixth. A shallow flyout to center field off the bat of Zach Welz kept the bases loaded and, with Washington’s bullpen working, Dorminy induced an inning-ending double-play grounder off the bat of Mike Rizzitello to McEachern at second base. Marr’s relay throw to Simonetti at first base was dug out of the turf and the bang-bang call went in the Wild Things’ favor, prompting Evansville manager Andy McCauley to briefly argue.

Extra bases

Collins, Washington’s left fielder, has been selected as one of the eight participants representing the Frontier League in the Home Run Derby at the all-star game Tuesday night in O’Fallon, Mo. The Frontier League players will be competing against former St. Louis Cardinals Rick Ankiel, Jim Edmonds, Ray Lankford and Mark Whiten. Collins is a left-handed hitter and the right-field wall at CarShield Field is only 299 feet from home plate but has a wall that is more than 30 feet tall. … The series concludes today with a 5:35 p.m. start.