The up-and-coming Wild Things’ latest win, a 6-1 victory over the Joliet Slammers on Thursday night, featured some significant firsts.
With the win, the Wild Things wake up today with a 60-26 record, the franchise’s all-time high dating back to 2002. Never before has a Washington team been 34 games over .500. The 2005 team was 33 games over .500 late in the season before finishing 62-32.
The Wild Things also became the first team in the Frontier League to win 60 games this year, reducing their magic number to win the West Division title to four. Any combination of wins for Washington or losses for Gateway totaling four in the final 10 days of the regular season would give the Wild Things their ninth division title and third in four years.
The victory went mainly to pitcher Kobe Foster and outfielder Baron Radcliff.
Foster (10-1) continued to do what he has done for years, which is just win. The left-hander from Winchester, Tennessee, was masterful once again, throwing four hits in eight innings. He managed two walks and six strikeouts. Joliet did not have a baserunner reach third base until the eighth inning.
The only run Foster allowed was unearned and the result of a pitcher’s throwing error with two outs in the eighth inning.
Foster improved his record to 25-7 in three seasons with the Wild Things. Combined with his time at Tennessee Wesleyan and a winter season in Australia, Foster has a record of 54-10.
Foster got plenty of help that night from Radcliff, a recent signing from the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system. The 6-foot-4 left fielder gave Washington a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the third inning against Joliet starter Jake Armstrong (4-8). Radcliff reached base on a shattered-bat single in the fifth inning and scored on a throwing error when Caleb McNeely stole second base to make it 2-0. Radcliff scored a run in the seventh inning with a double to left-center field.
Radcliff finished the night with four hits, three RBIs and was one triple away from the cycle.
The Wild Things won a close game with a three-run seventh inning. Washington led 3-0 and the first four batters reached base, with Tyreque Reed hitting a two-run single on an 0-2 pitch.
Additional bases
Nick MaDonald was the ninth-inning pitcher for Washington and retired all three batters he faced. … Third baseman Tommy Caufield had two hits and made two outstanding defensive plays. … Washington begins a six-game road trip tonight on Lake Erie. … Gateway entered Thursday with a record of 20-7 since July 21, but the Grizzlies have not won a game against Washington in the standings.
