Wild Things’ hustle pays off with 1-run win

It took 42 games but the Wild Things finally have a one-run win on their record.
All they needed was 11 innings, the International Tiebreaker and some all-out hustle by Blake Adams.
Adams reached base safely on an error by Lake Erie first baseman Dale Burdick with two outs in the bottom of the 11th as Washington edged the Crushers 5-4 Thursday night.
It was the first one-run win of the season for Washington, which had lost each of its first nine such games.
More importantly, it was the ninth victory in 11 games for the Wild Things, who have pulled to within one game of third place and four games of first place in the Frontier League’s East Division.
“It was a really good win,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said. “We did a lot of things right. They gifted us some runs but we’ll take ’em.”
With the International Tiebreaker — each half-inning starts with a runner on second base — in play in the bottom of the 11th, Washington began with Saige Jenco in scoring position. He was bunted up a base by Ryan Cox but Chase Slone hit a chopper over Lake Erie pitcher Logan Lombana (0-1) that second baseman Aaron Hill fielded. Jenco held at third base and Hill threw to first base for the inning’s second out.
That brought up Adams, who hit a sharp grounder that bounced off the chest and glove of first baseman Dale Burdick, who is usually Lake Erie’s third baseman. Burdick took two steps to his right to retrieve the baseball, but Adams raced out of the batter’s box and hustled to first base, making a head-first slide before Burdick could get to the bag or even toss the ball to Lombana.
“There’s a lesson to be learned in that,” Langbehn said of Adams hustling down the line on what first appeared to be a routine play.
“You have to bust it down the line just in case something wild happens, like that. I hit it right at (Burdick) but I hit it hard,” said Adams, whose jersey and pants were stained black by the rubber pellets in the turf basepath.
Jesus Balaguer (2-2), the fourth Washington pitcher, was the winner. He escaped the ITB unscathed in the top of the 11th. Lake Erie bunted Sebastian Diaz to third base but Bryan De La Rose bounced back to Balaguer for the inning’s second out and Brady Wofford struck out to end the threat.
“We’re 1-0 in one-run games now,” Adams said. “That’s all we know about that.”
Washington played from behind most of the night. Lake Erie scored two runs in the top of the first inning against Washington starter Eric Morell. Designed hitter John Cable had a two-out, two-run single.
Washington scored one run in the bottom of the first as Cameron Baranek singled with one out, stole second and third and scored when Hector Roa reached on an error.
Lake Erie pushed the lead back to two runs when Burdick hit the first pitch in the top of the second for a long home run to left field. It was Burdick’s third homer of the season.
“They were ambushing Eric early in the count,” Langbehn said of Lake Erie’s hitters. “The first time he went through the order he was only at something like 20 pitches. They wanted to get to his fastball early in the count.”
Washington scored a run without the benefit of a hit in the fourth, getting a walk, hit batsman, wild pitch and an RBI groundout by rookie shortstop Chase Slone that made it 3-2.
The Wild Things finally erased the deficit in the sixth when J.J. Fernandez led off with a single and Cody Erickson followed with a triple to right centerfield, tying the score at 3-3.
That was all for Lake Erie starter Jake Repavich. On the first pitch from reliever Augie Gallardo, Washington rookie second baseman Chase Sudduth dropped down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt, scoring Erickson and giving the Wild Things a 4-3 lead. It was Sudduth’s first RBI in professional baseball.
Morell pitched only into the fourth inning, leaving with two runners on base and no outs. Lefty reliever Josh Lapiana relieved Morell and kept Washington in position to take the lead.
Given the one-run advantage, Washington gave it right back in the seventh when Aaron Hill led off with a single and scored on a double by Emmanuel Marrero, making it 4-4. Washington right fielder Hector Roa, with a relay throw from Sudduth, gunned down Marrero, who tried to stretch the hit into a triple and that loomed large when Zach Racusin, who was ejected in the ninth inning, followed with a double.
Extra bases
Prior to the game, Washington activated center fielder Jenco from the disabled list and put relief pitcher Nick Durazo on the 7-day DL. Jenco, who had been the Wild Things’ leadoff hitter, batted in the No. 7 spot of the order Thursday. Durazo was acquired in an offseason trade for starting pitcher Chase Cunningham and has an 0-2 record a 4.62 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. … Washington begins a three-game weekend series tonight against Joliet. It will be the Slammers’ first appearance at Wild Things Park since defeating Washington in Game 5 of the Frontier League championship series last September.