The last thing the Wild Things wanted to experience at this point in the season was an injury to a key player.
So it was a little worrying when Washington manager Tom Vaeth and coach Hailey Drollinger took the field after just four shots in Wednesday night’s game against Florence.
Vaeth and Drollinger weren’t there to check on Washington starting pitcher Dariel Fregio, who was fine and off to another good start.
The manager and coach instead looked at center fielder Caleb McNeely, who had denied Florence’s Ed Johnson, the Y’alls’ leadoff hitter, an extra-base hit by making a sensational catch as he crashed into the outfield wall. McNeely’s face slammed into the wall where one of the metal posts stands, resulting in a busted lip and mouth.
“His face hit a crossbar and his lip is split,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “I’m sure he needs stitches.”
McNeely was the Frontier League’s leading home run player (16) and the leader in RBIs (61) entering the day, but he left the game and was taken to a local hospital.
It was a bad omen for the Wild Things, whose nine-game winning streak came to an end when Florence celebrated a 7-5 victory in front of 2,222 spectators.
“I didn’t expect that everything would go as we wanted it to in the last few weeks,” said Vaeth. “We’ll see how bad it is when he comes back from the emergency room.”
Washington led 5-2 after five innings and 5-3 in the seventh inning when Florence scored four times against Wild Things’ relievers to take the lead.
The Wild Things managed four straight hits in the fifth inning when they scored three runs against Florence relief pitcher Ross Thompson. Tommy Caufield hit a single and scored on a double by Jalen Miller. Tyreque Reed followed with an RBI single to center and Wagner’s double by LaGrange moved Miller to third base, but it would be Washington’s last hit until Carson Clowers hit a single with one out in the ninth inning. Reed scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon McIlwain that made the score 5-2.
Florence got within striking distance on an RBI single by Brian Fuentes in the sixth inning. Fregio left the field after six innings with a 5-3 lead. He allowed five hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out five times.
Nick MacDonald (3-1) replaced Fregio in the seventh inning and allowed a home run by TJ Reeves, his 16th of the season, to tie McNeely for the lead. After two outs, Thomas Jones worked a walk and Dalton Davis, Florence’s No. 9 hitter, hit a single.
“In the seventh inning, we couldn’t get ahead of the others,” said Vaeth. “We were pitching from behind.”
Then MacDonald was replaced by Christian James and a single from Johnson filled the bases.
Craig Massey, the Y’alls’ most experienced hitter, then hit a two-run go-league single through the right side of the infield. A wild pitch allowed Johnson to score and make it 7-5.
Carter Poiry (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings and was the winning pitcher. Kent Klyman struck out three Washington batters in the ninth inning for his fourth save. Stephen Hrustich hit a solo home run in the second inning on a 3-0 pitch from Fregio.
Additional bases
Washington’s 8-3 victory on Tuesday night was its 50th win in 72 games. That’s the fastest Washington has reached 50 wins in franchise history. In both 2002 and 2022, the Wild Things won their 50th victory in their 75th game. … Washington first baseman Andrew Czech sat out his second straight game. … The three runs MacDonald allowed were his first since June 26.
