Oct 26, 2015 2 min read

The Washington Wild Things will play in a downsized Frontier League next season.

The Wild Things released their 2016 schedule Monday and its shows what had been expected – the Rockford Aviators have folded, the Frontier Greys travel team is no longer needed and the league has contracted from 14 teams to 12.

The league also has shifted to a north-south alignment for its divisions though it will keep the traditional East and West names. The Chicago-area teams have been moved to the East Division with Evansville, Florence and Southern Illinois going to the West. Washington will be in the East with defending league champion Traverse City, Lake Erie, Windy City, Joliet and Schaumburg.

Washington will open its 15th season with a six-game road trip beginning May 13 against the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, Ill., followed by a stop in Joliet (May 17-19). The home opener is May 20 against Lake Erie. The season will run through Sept. 4. The all-star break is July 11-14 with the all-star game being held in Florence, Ky.

The Wild Things will play 48 home games on 43 dates. There are five scheduled doubleheaders on Wednesdays: May 25 against Traverse City, June 8 against Windy City, June 29 against Gateway, July 20 against River City and Aug. 24 against Traverse City. Washington will play only three home games on Tuesday nights.

The early portion of the schedule is difficult as Washington will play play 12 of its first 18 games on the road. The longest road trip is nine games, July 29-Aug. 7, to Florence, Evansville and River City. There is a nine-game homestand Aug. 19-28. The Aug. 28 game against Joliet is the final home game of the season.

The start time for Sunday home games has been switched to 5:05 p.m.