Back to beginning for Wild Things playoff series
Hector Roa, right, and the Washington Wild Things hope there is plenty of celebrating in the playoff series against Evansville.
The postseason for the Wild Things will begin in the same place that the regular season started: Bosse Field in Evansville, Ind.
Washington will begin the Frontier League playoffs tonight at the Evansville Otters in Game 1 of a best-of-5 first-round series. Evansville, the second wild-card qualifier, will host Games 1 and 2 in its 103-year-old ballpark. The series shifts to Washington for Game 3 Friday night (7:05 p.m.) and Games 4 and 5, if necessary, Saturday and Sunday.
Washington is in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Wild Things are the top seed in the playoffs after finishing with a 54-42 record. They tied with Joliet for the division title but gained the top seed based on winning the season series against the Slammers.
Evansville was 51-45 and one game behind West Division winner River City. Joliet hosts River City in Game 1 of the other first-round series tonight.
Washington is seeking its first league championship in the franchise’s 17 seasons. The Wild Things lost in the first round last year, in four games to Florence. Washington has eight players back from last year’s playoff team, including center fielder James Harris, who last week was named the Frontier League’s Most Valuable Player.
The Wild Things and Otters can be considered strangers. They have not met since July 8 at Wild Things Park in the final game before the all-star break. Washington won two of three games in that series. The Wild Things also won two of three at Evansville in the season-opening series in May.
Evansville enters the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the league. The Otters played their best baseball over the last month, which resulted in the wild-card berth. Evansville is 19-9 since Aug. 3 and lost consecutive games only one time over that period.
Washington, meanwhile, clinched a playoff berth by winning nine of 10 series before being swept by Lake Erie last weekend. The Crushers were the only team to win a series over Washington since late July.
The Wild Things finished the season as the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 5.3 runs per game. Harris (.305, 16 home runs, 26 stolen bases), is the sparkplug of the offense. He led the league in runs (75), triples (eight) and extra-base hits (46). Right fielder Hector Roa batted .309 and was third in the league with 69 RBI. Left fielder Roman Collins batted .298 with 25 doubles and 23 stolen bases.
Lefty Thomas Dorminy (9-5), the league’s Pitcher of the Year, won the ERA title at 2.45 to lead the Wild Things’ pitching staff. Chase Cunningham (7-6, 4.45) finished the season strong and had 14 quality starts – at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs allowed – in 20 outings. Closer Zach Strecker (6-5, 1.48) was second in the league with 21 saves. His 50 relief appearances led the league.
Evansville is a patient team on offense and likes to play smallball. The Otters led the league in walks and were second in sacrifice bunts. Third baseman Ryan Long (.292, 12 HR) was the all-league third baseman and outfielder Travis Harrison (.302, 10 HR) is an impact player.
Randy Wynne (9-9, 3.55) led Evansville in wins and Austin Nicely (8-5, 4.23) has not lost in more than a month. The Otters lost a key relief pitcher, Aaron Phillips (1-0, 1.22), two weeks ago when he was signed by the Minnesota Twins.
Extra bases
Tickets for Game 3, and all Wild Things home playoff games, are $5 for any seat in the ballpark. Kids ages 12 and under get in for free. … Evansville is in the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The Otters have won two championships (2006 and 2016) in their 23 years in the Frontier League. … Washington won a one-game wild-card playoff at Evansville in 2014. The Otters swept the Wild Things in a first-round series in 2004. … Washington has not won a multi-game playoff series since sweeping Gateway in the first round in 2007.