Wild Things win on walk-off wild pitch
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
The Wild Things’ Jack Cone slides home just ahead of the tag from Trois-Rivieres pitcher Nick Garcia to score the winning run in walk-off fashion as Washington earned a 7-6 victory in 10 innings Wednesday night.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington's Anthony Brocato (34) celebrates his ninth inning two-run homer with teammate Abraham Sequera (17), putting the game with Trois-Rivieres into extra innings tied 6-6.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
The Wild Thinngs' Wagner Lagrange takes a pitch to the helmet in the eigth inning against Trois-Rivieres at Wild Things Park. Lagrange was twice hit by pitches during the game.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington's shortstop Abraham Sequera applies the tag to Trois-Rivieres' Brendon Dadson (14) that caught him stealing second, ending the eigth inning.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
The Wild things' Jack Cone, centerm, is congratulated by teammates after scoring the winning run as a pinch-runner in the 10th inning Wednesday night.
A game that was going the wrong way for the Wild Things from the start turned on one unlikely swing by Abraham Segura, the No. 9 hitter in the Washington lineup, and one powerful swing of Anthony Brocato’s bat, both in the ninth inning.
It ended in the 10th inning, after a sacrifice bunt by of all players, Washington’s power-hitting first baseman Andrew Czech, and a wild pitch by Trois-Rivieres relief pitcher Rob Klinchock.
Pinch-runner Jack Cone raced home from third base on the wild pitch to give Washington a wild 7-6 come-from-behind victory in 10 innings Wednesday night.
“Most of the wins we’ve had recently have come like, with contributions from everybody, not just the guys hitting 1 thru 6 or 7,” said Brocato, who had the biggest hit of the game.
Washington trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. After Aigles pitcher Tyler Cornett, who was in his third inning of relief, started the ninth with a strikeout, Sequera, the No. 9 hitter in the Wild Things’ lineup, worked the count to 3-2 before drilling a shot to deep right centerfield that bounced over the wall for a book-rule double.
That gave Washington some life and brought Brocato to the plate. He hit the second pitch, a fastball, from Cornett off the scoreboard beyond left centerfield for a game-tying two-run homer.
“Brocato’s home run doesn’t mean anything if there is not somebody coming through in front of him,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “That was a good, deep at-bat by Sequera and then Brocato hit the heck out that ball.”
Brocato’s home run, his 18th of the season, tied the score at 6-6. Washington had a chance to win in the ninth, but Scotty Dubrule was thrown out trying to go from first base to third on a two-out single by Wagner Lagrange.
That sent the game to the Frontier League’s tiebreaker. The Aigles started the 10th inning with Rodrigo Orozco on second base but were unable to advance him as Washington reliever Lukas Young (3-0) got two flyouts around a groundout.
The Wild Things began the bottom of the 10th with Lagrange on second and he moved to third when the hard-hitting Czech dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt, which wasn’t the first of his three-year pro career.
“Andrew has done that before,” Vaeth was quick to say. “He did that in 2021. When we got the third out in the top of the 10th, I was thinking that Andrew got the bunt down in 2021 and I told him, “Big man, I believe you’re going to get the bunt down again.”
With Lagrange on third, Cone was inserted as a pinch-runner. Trois-Rivieres opted to intentionally walk Tristan Peterson, who was lifted for pinch-runner Dylan Broderick. Broderick took away a potential inning-ending double play by stealing second base, which set up the wild pitch by Klinchock that skipped past catcher Ricardo Sanchez and went to the backstop. Cone raced home, diving head-first across home plate and setting off a wild celebration.
It was the first lead all night for Washington. Trois-Rivieres led 5-0 in the fifth inning.
Steve Brown hit a two-out RBI single in the first inning off Washington starter Zach Kirby, a rookie out of Loyola Marymount who was signed earlier in the day and was making his professional debut.
In the third inning, Brown stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. He laced a shot to right center that eluded the stretch of center fielder Robert Chayaka and rolled to the wall for a three-run double and 4-0 lead for the Aigles.
In the fifth, Orozco hit a solo home run that made it 5-0.
Kirby gave up five runs but it came on only six hits and one walk. He struck out two in his professional debut.
“I thought he did fine for making his professional debut,” Vaeth said. “He hit a batter, which was a mistake, and the two-run double and home run, those were pitches that were center cut. But what he did do was show me he has pitchability. He landed his breaking ball and got a couple of outs with his changeup. I liked what I saw from him. He gave us a chance.”
Washington closed to within 5-4 by scoring four times with two outs in the fifth. Chayka had a two-run single through the right side of the infield and Dubrule followed with a two-run double to left field.
The Aigles made it 6-4 in the sixth against the Washington bullpen, but Justin Goosen-Brown threw two scoreless innings and Young matched that performance.