A rally to remember for Wild Things
Wild Things’ Carter McEachern fields a ball against Schaumburg Boomers during a game at Wild Things Park on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018.
Wild Things’ Ryan Cox hits a single against Schaumburg Boomers during a game at Wild Things Park on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018.
Wild Things’ pitcher Levi MaVorhis throws to Reydel Medina to force the Boomers’ Collin Ferguson back to the bag during a game at Wild Things Park on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018.
Wild Things’ Reydel Medina steals 2nd as the Boomers Jack Parenty waits for the ball during a game at Wild Things Park on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018.
When you’re chasing your first division title in more than a decade, you can use an unlikely comeback win now and then.
The Wild Things had one such back-from-the-brink rally Wednesday night.
Roman Collins’ bloop single to shallow center field scored Ramsey Romano and James Harris, capping Washington’s five-run bottom of the eighth inning as the Wild Things rallied for an improbable 8-7 victory over the Schaumburg Boomers.
Washington overcame deficits of 4-0 and 7-2 to win and retain sole possession of first place in the Frontier League’s East Division. The Wild Things lead second-place Joliet, which swept a doubleheader at Lake Erie, by one game with 10 to play in the regular-season.
“That was a great victory,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn confirmed.
It was a crushing loss for Schaumburg, which began the night two games out of the final wild-card playoff berth and seven games behind the Wild Things.
For much of the night, everything went the Boomers’ way as they led 4-0 in the first inning and 7-2 in the seventh. But in the bottom of the eighth, Washington erased a 7-3 deficit by scoring five runs, all with two outs, in a messy inning that included an error and two passed balls.
“We just hung in there and got some pitches up in the zone in the eighth inning and didn’t miss,” Langbehn said.
The key half-inning started with Hector Roa reaching base on a throwing error by Schaumburg third baseman Kenny Towns on a tough play by the bag. Lefty reliever Darrell Thompson (5-1) entered the game and was able to get two outs on a fielder’s choice and a strikeout. However, Washington first baseman Conner Simonetti dropped a double the opposite way into the left-field corner that scored Carter McEachern and Kyle Pollock to pull the Wild Things to within 7-5.
“I think the key at-bat was Simonetti’s,” Collins said. “That double down the left-field line turned the tide. We were just scrapping for stuff up until that point.”
Ramsey Romano, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, singled up the middle to move Simonetti to third base. A passed ball allowed Simonetti to race home and make it a one-run game.
James Harris, who hit a solo homer an inning earlier, was walked on four pitches, and another passed ball moved Romano to third base and Harris to second.
Schaumburg then brought in closer Jake Joyce for a four-out save but Collins fought off a curveball from Joyce and dropped a game-winning hit into shallow center field as two runs scored without a throw to home plate.
“The scouting report on Joyce is he has a good curveball and he threw me three or four of them,” Collins explained. “You have to think that in those situations the pitcher is the one under pressure. I was able to get a curveball that I was able to dunk into center field.”
Washington closer Zach Strecker pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 20th save.
The game got off to a lousy start for Washington as Schaumburg scored four times in the top of the first inning off Wild Things starter Levi MaVorhis. The Boomers had runners on first and second with one out, then put together three consecutive hits, including a two-run triple by first baseman Collin Ferguson. Zack Wiegel, who was 3-for-4 and extended his on-base streak to 40 games, had a run-scoring single, as did Towns.
MaVorhis battled back from the shaky start to throw four consecutive scoreless innings and the Wild Things began chipping away at the deficit. Reydel Medina singled, stole second base and scored on a throwing error, and a single by Simonetti scored Pollock and cut Schaumburg’s lead to 4-2.
But Michael Hartnagel, the No. 9 hitter in Schaumburg’s lineup, hit a three-run homer on the 10th pitch of the at-bat against Washington reliever David Adkins to give the Boomers a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning. It was the first professional home run for Hartnagel, a rookie from Butler University, and came on his 100th at-bat.
The home run seemed to drain the life from the fans at Wild Things Park but Collins said it didn’t shake Washington’s confidence.
“It was really another day to us,” he said. “When you play every day, you get to the point where nothing surprises you. You just have to stay positive.”
Extra bases
James Meeker (1-1), who threw two scoreless innings of relief and struck out two, was the winning pitcher. … Collins’ game-winning single extended his hitting streak to 16 games.