The Wild Things followed Matt Sergey’s perfect game Sunday with their worst pitching performance of the season Tuesday in a 13-7 loss to the River City Rascals.
Saxon Butler drove in five runs and hit one of River City’s three home runs. Joe Staley and former Wild Thing Blaise Ferandez also homered for the Rascals as Washington gave up a season-high 16 hits. The 13 runs allowed matched a season high for the Wild Things’ pitching staff.
The good news for Washington was that none of the top four teams in the Frontier League’s East Division won Tuesday. Washington remained in sole possession of the division lead and a half-game ahead of Southern Illinois, which lost at Traverse City. Evansville, which was idle, moved to within a half-game of the Wild Things.
Fourth-place Lake Erie lost at Normal and is one game behind Washington.
River City is tied with Schaumburg for the West Division lead.
Zac Fuesser (8-2), who entered the night leading the league with a 1.95 ERA, gave up seven runs (six earned) in two innings as River City forged an early 7-2 lead. The loss was the first for Fuesser as a starting pitcher.
Joe Staley hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first and Butler had a two-run single in the second. Butler added a three-run homer in the fifth that pushed the Rascals’ lead to 10-5.
Washington pulled to within 11-7 on William Beckwith’s two-run homer in the top of the seventh. Fernandez, however, hit a two-run blast in the eighth.
Ryan Kresky gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a solo home run, and Maxx Garrett hit his eighth homer of the season an inning later.
Scott Kalamar and Carter Bell also had run-scoring hits.
Chandler Jagodzinski (4-1), the second of six River City pitchers, was the winner.
