07/07/2007

Beach Bums rally falls short in 4-3 loss to Wild Things

Brown homer ties game at 2-2 in 6th

FROM STAFF REPORTS

WASHINGTON, Pa. — The Washington Wild Things improved their season-high winning streak to eight straight games with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Traverse City Beach Bums in front of 3,840 fans.

The Wild Things (26-16) only had three hits through seven innings against the Beach Bums, but they matched that total in the eighth inning to take the lead on a go-ahead RBI double by Nathan Messner.

Washington plated two runs off of Beach Bums starter David Nathanson in the bottom of the second inning to open a 2-0 lead. Rene Quintana doubled off the wall in left to score both runs with two outs. Nathanson was making his second start of the season for the Beach Bums.

An error at the top of the sixth inning by Messner at first base came back to haunt the Wild Things. After Steve Young reached first on Messner's miscue, Jeff Brown sent a J.J. Hollenbeck pitch deep over the left-field wall to tie the contest at two apiece.

In the seventh, the Beach Bums (15-28) took their first lead of the series since the seventh inning of game one in the series. With Jeff Vincent aboard on a leadoff double, he was pushed home with two outs by a Zack Kalter bloop single to left field for a 3-2 Traverse City lead.

Still trailing by one in the eighth with two outs, Chris Sidick crushed his fourth home run of the season over the right-field fence to knot the score at three. Jared Locke (0-1) had struck out the first two batters he faced in relief of Nathanson before Sidick's blast.

Jarod Rine and Messner then continued the rally with back-to-back doubles, with Messner's bringing in the winning run.