Aug 10, 2014 3 min read

If the Wild Things are going to hold their tenuous lead in the East Division of the Frontier League, then there can’t be many missteps over the final weeks of the season.

That’s why Saturday night’s game was so impressive.

The Wild Things shook off a bizarre first inning and rallied from a two-run deficit to roll to an 8-2 victory over the Traverse City Beach Bums in front of 2,973 fans at Consol Energy Park.

The game was delayed about 90 minutes because the softball game between the Rebellion and Chicago Bandits, which started at 2 p.m., lasted nearly five hours and went 17 innings.

The victory keeps the Wild Things’ lead in the East Division at one game over the Evansville Otters, who defeated the River City Rascals, 10-4, last night, and the Southern Illinois Miners, who outslugged the Joliet Slammers, 13-7.

Center fielder Daniel Poma got on base four times and doubled in a five-run sixth inning when all the runs were scored after two were out.

“We have to bring it every night,” said Wild Things manager Bob Bozzuto. “(Traverse City) is a good baseball team. They were up 2-0. The bottom line is that we have to play good baseball every night.”

Poma, right fielder Scott Kalamar, left fielder C.J. Beatty and first baseman Will Beckwith went a combined 9-for-17, knocked in five runs and scored five.

And the bottom of the lineup added some punch with catcher Jim Vahalik going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI and designated hitter Maxx Garrett, fresh from the DL, collecting two hits in four at bats and scoring a run.

“The biggest thing is we have to keep hitting with two outs, like we did (tonight),” said Vahalik, who came into the game with a .220 batting average. “That was good to see. We did a better job hitting in those situations, and that’s what will separate us (from the other teams in the division).”

Washington scored the eight runs in the middle three innings, two in the fourth, one in the fifth and five in the sixth. Starter Shawn Blackwell went five innings, allowed two runs and struck out seven with his 86 pitches.

“It was just the pitch count, that’s all,” said Bozzuto. “We know we’re going to be able to score runs and we shut them down (after trailing 2-0). Shawn settled in after that.”

Kalamar’s two-run double highlighted the sixth inning, when the Wild Things sent 11 batters to the plate.

“I believe we have the best team, 1 through 9,” Vahalik said. “This was a big game for us. We’re going to try to ride the momentum.”

The Wild Things appeared ready to pounce on Traverse City starter Casey Delgado in the first inning, but failed to push across a run despite getting four hits in the inning.

Poma opened the inning with what ended up as a book-rule double down the right field line. Traverse City right fielder Sean Gusrang went into the corner to retrieve the ball while Poma rounded the bases. Eventually, he was sent back to second.

One out later, Delgado picked Poma off second base.

Beatty singled to left and Beckwith moved him to second with a single. Third baseman Carter Bell singled to right but Gusrang threw out Beatty at home plate for the final out of the inning.