Whether or not the Chillicothe Mudcats win the necessary three or four games to capture the National Baseball Congress’ Central USA Regional tournament title over the next few days to qualify for the NBC World Series tournament won’t change the fact that 2008 has been the winningest season in the team’s seven-year history. However, if they do, it would be a the whipped cream on their sundae and probably cement this as the best Mudcats’ season yet.
Already a record-setter on several team and individual statistical fronts – including most victories overall and in MINK League play, best earned run average by an individual pitcher, and most hits in a season by an individual player, 2008 could become even more memorable if the team can make it to the Series in Wichita, Kan., for a second time in three years by winning the regional.
They could do that in only three games – one a day Saturday through Monday – without losing or by winning three or four times with one loss, depending on when the loss occurs.
The Fish, 29-15 and winners of eight straight enter the five-team regional tournament at Clarinda, Iowa’s, Municipal Stadium, will try to take the first step tomorrow (Saturday) night when they face either the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Grays or Omaha (Neb.) Diamond Spirit in an approximately 8 p.m. second-round (winners’ semifinal) game in the double-elimination event.
The FCA Grays, Mudcats compatriots in the MINK League and with whom the Fish split their six meetings, defeated Chillicothe in their last meeting July 9 before the Mudcats won 13 of their final 15 contests.
Diamond Spirit easily won the Upper Deck League run by the Omaha-based Strike Zone baseball academy. The third-place team from that league, D.J.’s Dugout, also is in the regional.
"Both of those teams are good teams, so whoever we face, it will be a good game," Mudcats first-year head coach Justin “Jud” Kindle said of the Grays and Diamond Spirit.
The Mudcats’ pitching plans, as of late Wednesday, were to have righthanders Andrew Dunn and Blake Barber, the team co-leaders in wins at 6-1 each, start the team’s first two tournament games. Dunn, who walked only 11 men in 45 regular-season innings while striking out 46, is expected to get the call Saturday.
If the Mudcats get their 30th win Saturday, they’d play the winner of tonight’s scheduled contest between D.J.’s Dugout and the Clarinda A’s at 1 p.m. Sunday. A loss by Chillicothe on Saturday would put them in a losers’ bracket game at 4 p.m. Sunday against a to-be-determined opponent.
A Mudcats loss in either of their first two games would mean they’d have to win four times to take the tourney crown and Series berth. Opening with wins Saturday and Sunday would put them in the championship round in which they’d have two chances to win once for the title.
Entering the tournament, the Mudcats could hardly be any hotter, excelling down the stretch in nearly every facet of the game.
The biggest concern probably is health and freshness as the team has been on the ragged edge of having enough pitchers and position players for several weeks now. Any injuries now would be very ill-timed, but Kindle feels the respite from game play yesterday and today should freshen the arms and legs.
"Hopefully we're getting healed up and ready to go," he commented to the C-T.
Barring last- minute injury or illness absences, Kindle and assistant coach Jason Nold will put a lineup on the card which has proven more than capable of supporting the pitchers well, both offensively and defensively.
Kindle could roll out a batting order in which six of the first eight men have .300-plus averages and the other two are at .270 or above.
As a team, Chillicothe ended the regular-season with a team-record .301 batting average, led by slugging first baseman Dominic D’Anna’s .409 mark. He also paced the club with five home runs and 32 runs batted in.
Fleet-footed center fielder Matty Johnson has a team-record 62 hits and ended the regular-season on a 13-game hitting streak after having a 15-gamer earlier.
Catcher Dallas Hord was 11 for his last 18 and is on a seven-game hitting tear. He’s now second on the team in RBIs with 27.
Meanwhile, early-July signee Tyler Bullock is hitting .364 with 17 RBIs in only 12 games.
Defensively, second baseman TS Reed amazingly has made only one error all summer– none in the last 41 games.
As a team, the Mudcats have made only 13 errors in the last 15 games after having 35 in the first 28. They’ve had only one multi-miscue contest in the last 15.
On the mound, look for either Aaron Meade (4-1) or Martz (3-1) to start the third game of the tourney with amazingly-effective Aaron Kleekamp (0.57 earned run average in 32 innings) used out of the bullpen as early and often as needed.