AVON, Ohio – Wagner Lagrange hit a home run, Jordan DiValerio pitched seven scoreless innings and the Wild Things defeated the Lake Erie Crushers 2-1 on Sunday afternoon to win a three-game series and clinch the Frontier League’s West Division title.
It is the ninth division title in franchise history and the third in four years under manager Tom Vaeth.
Washington improved its season record to 63-26, which is seven games better than second-place Gateway with six games remaining in the regular season. The 63 wins tie the franchise record. The 2005 Wild Things team also won 63 games.
The league record for most wins in a season is 68, set by Windy City in 2007 and matched by River City in 2011.
Against Lake Erie, Tyreque Reed gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double against Crushers starter Anthony Escobar (8-4). The hit brought Tommy Caufield into the game.
Lagrange opened the fourth inning with his 11th home run of the season, a hit into the right-center field outfield that gave Washington a 2-0 lead.
DiValerio (10-2) had two hits in seven innings to defeat Lake Erie. He had two walks and three strikeouts.
DiValerio was replaced in the eighth inning by Christian James, who allowed two singles to start the inning, but catcher JC Santini caught pinch-runner Walner Espinal at second base and made the first out.
Alex Carrillo later relieved James and allowed an RBI single from Jarrod Watkins, but managed two key strikeouts.
Rookie closer Gyeongju Kim threw a scoreless ninth inning for his 25th save, which is the league lead.
Washington will begin a three-game series in the Windy City on Tuesday before closing the regular season with a weekend game at Wild Things Park against Schaumburg.
The Wild Things will begin the Frontier League playoffs on Thursday, September 5th at the wild card winner, which will be Gateway, Lake Erie or Schaumburg, then return home on Saturday, September 7th for Game 2 and, if necessary, Sunday, September 8th for Game 3.
