May 20, 2022 4 min read

It’s difficult to win on the road in professional baseball and Empire State, the Frontier League’s homeless, winless traveling team, has been proving as much. And the Greys’ bus pulled into Wild Things Park on Friday night, which was a good sign for the scuffling Wild Things, who are searching for their first series win.

Based on early returns, the result was somewhat predictable for the Greys as Washington scored often in a 9-1 victory on Fireworks Night.

However, what Washington first baseman Ramon Osuna and starting pitcher Sandro Cabrera did could hardly be categorized as predictable.

Osuna hit an impressive two-run homer and Cabrera (1-1) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

One night after scoring 18 runs and pounding out 20 hits in a win at Sussex County, Washington wasted no time against Empire State starter Ernesto Huizar (0-2). After retiring the first two Wild Things hitters, Huizar gave up a single to Scotty Dubrule. Wagner Lagrange then hit a foul popup that Empire State first baseman Kolton Kendrick misplayed for an error. The miscue proved costly as Lagrange rocketed a double off the wall in left centerfield, scoring Dubrule with the game’s first run.

Osuna, a 6-2, 250-pound first baseman, made it 3-0 when he hit a missile of a two-run homer to center field. The shot was as impressive as any ever hit at Wild Things Park, not for its distance but rather for its velocity and trajectory. According to the ballpark’s Yakkertech tracking system, Osuna’s home run came off the bat at 115.9 mph and traveled on a line-drive path, never getting more than 20 feet off the ground, slicing right to left, just high enough to clear the center field batter’s eye.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever hit a ball harder than that one,” Osuna said. “I was sitting dead red, fastball, and that’s what I got. I stuck to my approach.”

The home run was part of what has been a good week for the Osuna family. His brother, Alberto, who plays college baseball at North Carolina, hit a walkoff home run Thursday to beat Florida State.

Cabrera was equally as impressive as Osuna’s home run. A lefty, Cabrera finished the night with seven shutout innings. He allowed two hits and two walks. He struck out seven and spent much of the night working ahead in the count.

“When he controls his fastball, he is as good as anyone,” Wild Things pitching coach Alex Boshers said of Cabrera. “It’s a case of his breaking ball plays well off his fastball, especially when he get his fastball anywhere in the strike zone.”

Cabrera threw 62 strikes on 87 pitches.

“That’s one thing we’ve been preaching to all of our pitchers,” Boshers said. “The numbers show that when our pitchers are ahead in the count, even the balls that are hit are going for one-hop groundouts or flyouts. The pitches we’re making while ahead in the count are resulting in outs.

“We’re stressing not trying to strike everybody out. You can’t strike a guy out on a one-strike pitch.”

Empire State, which entered the game with an anemic team batting of .152, didn’t have a hit until two outs in the sixth. Shortstop John Benevolent hit a grounder that Washington third baseman Ian Walters fielded deep behind the bag. Walters, straddling the foul line, made a long throw across the diamond but Benevolent beat it out for an infield single.

Washington increased its lead to 6-0 in the second inning. Walters led off with a single and catcher Alex Alvarez followed with his first home run with the Wild Things, a towering two-run shot to left field.

Cole Brannen then singled, stole second base and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-0.

Walters led off the fourth with a double off the wall in right centerfield and scored on a Cole Brannen single. Brannen made it 8-0, scoring on an RBI groundout by L.G. Castillo.

Washington’s final run came in the eighth when Nick ward reached on an infield single, moved up on a walk and scored on a single by Lagrange.

Empire State, which has been outscored 79-15 in seven games, spoiled Washington’s shutout bid with an unearned run in the top of the ninth.

Extra bases

Ward tied two franchise records in the win Thursday at Sussex County when he hit two home runs and drove in six. … Former Point Park pitcher Nick Beardsley will start for the Wild Things. … Washington’s error in the ninth inning was their first of the season.