Matt Swope hadn't played in five games, and he wasted little time taking advantage of a rare start. Swope hit a leadoff home run on the first pitch he saw and went 4 for 5 with three RBI, including the go-ahead single in the sixth, and the Wild Things defeated Evansville, 8-6, in front of 2,909 on Monday at Falconi Field. Mike Arbinger contributed a double and two singles to Washington's 14-hit output, and the Wild Things (22-16) topped the Otters for the second consecutive game and took sole possession of second place in the Federal League East Division, one-half game behind Florence, which played late last night. Swope, the Wild Things' left fielder, drilled Andre Simpson's first pitch in the bottom of the first over the left-field wall and helped Washington rally from a 2-0 deficit. "If I'm going to get a first-pitch fastball, I'm not going to waste it," said Swope, whose four hits raised his average from .236 to .283. "That first pitch looked like a watermelon coming in there." Washington manager John Massarelli was pleased with Swope, who is finally healthy after recovering from two shoulder surgeries while playing in the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals) organization. "I'd like to play a lot of our bench guys more if I could," Massarelli said. "(Swope's) the odd man out. I think any one of our bench players, they deserve to be playing. That's a good problem for me. "I like what I have seen of (Matt), and I decided to give the chance to prove he deserves to be in there. He did that tonight." Corey Ohalek (3-3) picked up the victory with 11/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Jim Popp pitched 22/3 scoreless innings, striking out four, to earn his seventh save. Anthony Del Prete (0-2), the third of four Otters pitchers, took the loss. Evansville starter Andre Simpson labored through a 41/3-inning, 95-pitch outing. He allowed six runs on seven hits, including Swope's solo homer and Pat O'Brien's three-run shot in the third. Simpson struck out two, walked two and hit a batter. Washington starter Aaron Gangi similarly struggled, surrendering six earned runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked three. Andy Hudak doubled, singled and drove in two runs for Washington, and O'Brien and Lance Koenig both had two hits. Jud Kindle went 4-for-5 for Evansville (21-17), including a solo homer in the fifth. He drove in two runs. No other Otters player had more than one hit, but they did hit three sacrifice flies. But it was Swope's four-hit night that paved the way to the Wild Things' victory. "When I get these opportunities, I've got to take them," Swope said.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---