Jun 2, 2024 3 min read

FLORENCE, Ky. — All good things must come to an end … and when you play 47 baseball games on the road, losses are bound to happen.

Washington lost its first contest as a visitor this season in a 10-inning, 7-6 setback to Florence on Saturday night at Thomas More Stadium. Washington was 9-0 on the road entering the game.

The Y’alls (7-11) scored the game-winning run when Jeremiah Burks sprinted home on Langston Ginder’s sacrifice fly to left field.

Florence had Burks placed on second base in favor of Zade Richardson to start the 10th. Burks advanced to third base on a wild pitch after a strikeout was recorded before Ed Johnson walked to put runners at the corners with one out, which set the stage for Ginder.

The Wild Things (13-6) had a similar circumstance in the top of the frame when Tommy Caufield sprinted to third on a passed ball after being placed on second with nobody out.

Y’alls reliever Ben Terwilliger forced Robert Chayka into an unassisted groundout at first base before Caufield was cut down at the plate on a fielder’s choice for the second out when J.C. Santini’s sharp grounder was fielded by third baseman Brian Fuentes, who fired to catcher Hank Zeisler for the out. Carson Clowers flew out to left field to end the threat.

Terwilliger didn’t allow a run or hit over his two innings to improve to 1-1 this season. He struck out and walked one.

Six home runs were hit between the two teams, and Florence opened the scoring in the first on Alberti Chavez’s solo blast for a 1-0 lead.

Caufield hit his first of two homers in the second for a tie ball game before Ginder and Fuentes hit solo shots for a 3-1 advantage. Zeisler scored on Richardson’s RBI single for a 4-1 lead after three.

Caufield’s tied the game with a three-run homer in the fourth, and Washington took a 5-4 advantage later in the inning when Chayka scored on Carson McNeely’s groundout to second.

Zeisler’s two-run blast in the fifth put the home team in front by one, but Santini scored on McNeely’s sacrifice fly to center in the eighth for a 6-6 game.

Caufield (4) and McNeely (2) drove in all the Wild Things’ runs.

McNeely tripled in the sixth but was gunned down at the plate on the same play. McNeely had two hits. Teammate Quincy Latimore had two hits, including a double, and Caufield had two hits.

Despite the setback, Washington remains tied with Schaumburg for first place in the Frontier League’s West division.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 1:07 p.m.