Aug 7, 2022 4 min read

If Justin Showalter was nervous and his confidence shaken, nobody could have blamed him.

Showalter, a rookie pitcher out of James Madison University, was signed by the Wild Things to start Sunday against Lake Erie. He walked the first two Crushers hitters – on 10 pitches. It wasn’t the best way to start a game or a professional career.

So Washington pitching coach Alex Bosher made a trip to the mound and delivered a message to his young pitcher.

“Breathe,” Boshers said. “That’s all I told him. Take deep breaths. Relax.”

With the help of a double-play grounder that helped him get out of the first inning unscathed, Showalter pitched five shutout innings, and designated hitter Andrew Czech belted a two-run homer as the Wild Things defeated the Crushers, 6-5.

“The message after the top of the first inning was you’re not in college anymore,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “These guys can all hit your fastball, so stop shaking off (catcher) Alex (Alvarez) and start using your changeup and breaking ball. He did and threw them for strikes.”

Showalter allowed four hits. One was a hard grounder by Lake Erie’s Jackson Valera, which struck the Crushers’ Connor Owings, who was running from second base to third, for an out in the first inning. By rule, Valera was credited with a hit though an out was recorded.

Showalter retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

“He did a great job. I was not expecting what he did,” Vaeth said. “I had told him to go out there and let me know when you’ve had enough and we’ll figure it out from there. I could not have expected that from the kid.”

Washington gave their young pitcher an early lead by scoring three runs in the first inning and two more in the second against Lake Erie starter Jay Alvarez (4-4). Five singles, including four consecutive and three that were grounders hit up the middle, produced the first-inning runs. Wagner Lagrange, Ian Walters and Tyler Wilber had the run-scoring hits.

In the second, Jared Mang laced a two-out single and Czech followed with a two-run homer, his seventh of the year, to give Washington the 5-0 lead.

“We were able to get the kid some early runs. I’m sure that helped him settle in,” Vaeth said.

The Wild Things made it 6-0 in the sixth. Walters and Tristan Peterson hit consecutive singles to put runners on first and second. Wilber followed with a flyout. When Walters tagged and tried to advance, the throw from right fielder Sean Cheely was too high and sailed over third base, allowing Walters to score.

The 6-0 lead should have been safe but for the second time in three games the Crushers rallied late against the Washington bullpen. After Kenny Pierson tossed two scoreless innings behind Showalter, relievers Dan Kubiuk and Christian James combined to give up five runs over the final two innings, walking four and hitting two batters.

The Crushers scored one run in the eighth – the first run allowed by Kubiuk in more than a month. In the ninth, Jake Gitter hit a grand slam off the right-field foul pole against James to make it a one-run game. James was able to end the game with consecutive strikeouts for his third save.

Washington did not use closer Lukas Young.

“The first 7 2/3 innings were great,” Vaeth said. “Young is going to be down a little bit more. He’s thrown a lot of innings a year after coming off surgery. We picked up another game in the standings, so that allows us to be smart with our time management and give guys some rest.”

Washington pushed its lead over second-place Evansville to 6½ games with 24 remaining. The Wild Things have won six consecutive series and 19 of the last 22.

Extras bases

The Wild Things improved their home record to 28-11. … To make room for Showalter on the roster, infielder/catcher Landen Barns was put on the inactive list. … … Mang, Czech and Walters each had two hits. … Washington pitcher Sandro Cabrera (7-2, 3.67) had his contract purchased Saturday by the Miami Marlins organization and has been assigned to Class A Beloit (Wisc.). … The Wild Things begin a six-game road trip Tuesday at Florence.