By: Braeden Jones
WASHINGTON, PA – In 14 total innings of work, both the Joliet Slammers (18-24) and the Washington Wild Things (29-15) got a victory in back and forth games from Saturday’s doubleheader.
The first game of this doubleheader saw immediate scoring from the Slammers. A walk and stolen base for leadoff hitter Ian Battipaglia paved the way for an RBI single from Blake Berry. After Jackson Valera got a single of his own, Cam Suto walked up to the plate and hit a 3-run homer to help score Berry and Valera. After just the top of the 1st inning, Joliet had a 4-0 lead.
The Wild Things would begin their response in the bottom of the 2nd when two singles from Anthony Brocato and Jeff Liquori and a walk on Caleb Ketchup would load the bases. Cole Fowler then hit a 2-RBI single to bring Brocato and Liquori home to bring the score to 4-2.
The Slammers would answer with two more scores of their own in the top of the 3rd inning. Berry and Valera once again found their way on base, and Suto got a single to score Berry. Peyton Carr would then get a sacrifice fly out to let Valera come home. That brought Joleit’s lead to 6-2.
Washington would bring that lead crashing down once the bottom of the 3rd inning rolled around. Andrew Czech hit a single to be a part of a 2-run homer from Brocato that got the Wild Things back to being behind by two runs, and they weren’t done yet. After Liquori and Caleb Ketchup both made it on base, Fowler would hit a single to bring both of them around to score. Despite the Slammers’ best efforts to pull this game away, the score was now tied at 6-6.
The Wild Things would not get their first lead of the game as it was Joliet who struck again. Patrick Ward and Brandon Heidal both got singles and would eventually find their way home. A single from Battipaglia would score Ward and Heidal would slide in on a wild pitch. The Slammers were able to take the lead again, this time at 8-6 after the top of the 4th inning.
Determined to stay in this game, Washington found another burst of life in the bottom of the 5th inning. Czech would get a double to put himself in prime scoring position, which is exactly what happened once Ketchup got his second single of the game. Unfortunately for the Wild Things, that was all the scoring they could muster in both this inning and the rest of the game, so game one of this doubleheader went to the Slammers for a 8-7 win.
Game two of this doubleheader started with scoring out of the gate once more, but this time for the home team. Washington’s Connor Peek hit a single, and two consecutive walks for Czech and Liquori loaded the bases in the bottom of the 1st inning. Ketchup cleared the house with a 3-RBI double, putting his team up early at 3-0.
The Slammers would respond quickly in the top of the 2nd when a Suto single and Ward walk set up a few scoring plays for Joliet. Carr hit a single to bring Suto around to score, and Billy Sullivan got a double to bring Ward home. The score was still in favor of the Wild Things at 3-2, but Joliet was closing in.
The gap in score would be pushed out a bit more when Czech started the bottom of the 3rd inning with a double. Liquori would hit a ball out deep to act as a sacrifice fly out so Czech could double the score over the Slammers.
Washington’s Ketchup would be walked to start the bottom of the 4th, and after stealing second base, he would score thanks to a sacrifice fly out from Fowler. That now brought the lead to 5-2 for the Wild Things.
Joliet wasn’t backing down yet as they went through eight batters in the top of the 5th inning to get some more runs on the board. Berry and Suto got a double and single respectively to start the hitting that half-inning, and were soon rewarded for it. Ward took a sacrifice fly out to let Berry score, and after Jackson Beaman hit a double, Carr snuck in a double himself to let Suto waltz to home plate. Sullivan was also feeling generous, so he hit a sacrifice fly out of his own so Beaman could tie up the game at 5-5.
Continuing to play the consistency game, the Wild Things saw Peek get walked in the bottom of the 5th and worked the whole half-inning to get him around the bases. Two ground outs got him to third base, where a wild pitch would let him slide into home plate and give his team the lead back.
Thinking that it couldn’t hurt to add one more to the score, Washington yet again worked to bring one runner around, this time being Ketchup after he hit a single. A sacrifice bunt from Fowler cleared the path for a single from Kyle Edwards to score Ketchup, now bringing the score to 7-5. That also ended up being the final score after the shortened seven innings for this (and the previous) game, meaning the doubleheader gave a win to both teams.
With the Slammers’ six-game winning streak finally broken, they will look to start a new one during the final game in this series against the Wild Things on Sunday. Hoping to carry the momentum of this new victory, Washington will aim to win two straight for their home crowd on Sunday at EQT Park.
