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Six days after being stunned by a 4-run Chillicothe Mudcats ninth-inning rally to lose 8-7 after they switched to a new relief pitcher for the start of the ninth inning, the Sedalia Bombers and head coach/general manager "Jud" Kindle made no such mistake Saturday night.
University of Missouri Tiger Jeff Emens (EMM-unz), who had picked up the torch from Nick Petree's sterling start to begin the sixth inning, closed out a 4-inning, 1-hit save in style with his third strikeout to secure a 2-0 Bombers home win last night.
Sedalia improved to 4-5 in MINK League play, while Chillicothe slipped to 3-3. The Mudcats are 6-3 overall.
Chillicothe will host league North Division leader St. Joseph in a Sunday 7:05 p.m. contest at "June" Shaffer Memorial Park in east Chillicothe.
Saturday's 2-hour, 2-minute game saw Chillicothe's mostly-season-long hitting malaise continue. Except for a few well-timed, late-inning outbursts which pulled victories out of the fire, the Mudcats' hitters have struggled to make consistent contact, especially authoritative contact.
Saturday at Sedalia's chummy Liberty Park (290 feet fence down the right-field line, 310 to the left-field pole, and only 375 to dead center, the Mudcats were held to only four scattered singles and never had a baserunner beyond first base. Rarely working deep into counts – the Petry-Emens duo used only 105 pitches, Chillicothe struck only one ball which came anywhere near the reachable fences.
The Bombers tagged Chillicothe starter and loser Bryce Biggerstaff (0-1) for 10 hits, but by walking no one and stranding eight runners, Biggerstaff kept his team on close terms through his seven innings. Reliever Colin Parker, the hometown product, threw a quick 1-2-3 eighth in his third solid outing in as many appearances.
While Sedalia didn't knock the fences down itself, it did use them to score the only run it needed in the first inning.
Bombers center fielder Trey Massenberg pulled a drive down the right-field line which hit the top of the fence and caromed beyond for a solo home run with one out.
The other Sedalia run scored in the fourth with two outs on a passed ball. After Koby Peebles' leadoff single, a sacrifice and right-side grounder had him 90 feet from the plate when Biggerstaff's pitch eluded catcher Kraig Kelley, letting Peebles dart home. The miscue became irrelevant, however, when the next two batters singled, meaning the run would have scored anyway.
Both teams' pitchers made the opposition put the ball in play or strike out trying, combining to walk only one batter and hitting no one. The game's only error was a throwing error by Biggerstafff on a pickoff play at first base in the third inning. Nothing came of it.
Peebles and Sedalia catcher Tommy Henk were the only players with multi-hit games, getting two apiece. The Mudcats' hits came from Cory Ford, Logan Moon, Zach Esquerra, and Kraig Kelley.
Six days after being stunned by a 4-run Chillicothe Mudcats ninth-inning rally to lose 8-7 after they switched to a new relief pitcher for the start of the ninth inning, the Sedalia Bombers and head coach/general manager "Jud" Kindle made no such mistake Saturday night.
University of Missouri Tiger Jeff Emens (EMM-unz), who had picked up the torch from Nick Petree's sterling start to begin the sixth inning, closed out a 4-inning, 1-hit save in style with his third strikeout to secure a 2-0 Bombers home win last night.
Sedalia improved to 4-5 in MINK League play, while Chillicothe slipped to 3-3. The Mudcats are 6-3 overall.
Chillicothe will host league North Division leader St. Joseph in a Sunday 7:05 p.m. contest at "June" Shaffer Memorial Park in east Chillicothe.
Saturday's 2-hour, 2-minute game saw Chillicothe's mostly-season-long hitting malaise continue. Except for a few well-timed, late-inning outbursts which pulled victories out of the fire, the Mudcats' hitters have struggled to make consistent contact, especially authoritative contact.
Saturday at Sedalia's chummy Liberty Park (290 feet fence down the right-field line, 310 to the left-field pole, and only 375 to dead center, the Mudcats were held to only four scattered singles and never had a baserunner beyond first base. Rarely working deep into counts – the Petry-Emens duo used only 105 pitches, Chillicothe struck only one ball which came anywhere near the reachable fences.
The Bombers tagged Chillicothe starter and loser Bryce Biggerstaff (0-1) for 10 hits, but by walking no one and stranding eight runners, Biggerstaff kept his team on close terms through his seven innings. Reliever Colin Parker, the hometown product, threw a quick 1-2-3 eighth in his third solid outing in as many appearances.
While Sedalia didn't knock the fences down itself, it did use them to score the only run it needed in the first inning.
Bombers center fielder Trey Massenberg pulled a drive down the right-field line which hit the top of the fence and caromed beyond for a solo home run with one out.
The other Sedalia run scored in the fourth with two outs on a passed ball. After Koby Peebles' leadoff single, a sacrifice and right-side grounder had him 90 feet from the plate when Biggerstaff's pitch eluded catcher Kraig Kelley, letting Peebles dart home. The miscue became irrelevant, however, when the next two batters singled, meaning the run would have scored anyway.
Both teams' pitchers made the opposition put the ball in play or strike out trying, combining to walk only one batter and hitting no one. The game's only error was a throwing error by Biggerstafff on a pickoff play at first base in the third inning. Nothing came of it.
Peebles and Sedalia catcher Tommy Henk were the only players with multi-hit games, getting two apiece. The Mudcats' hits came from Cory Ford, Logan Moon, Zach Esquerra, and Kraig Kelley.
