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Even though it was still an early-season game, the Chillicothe Mudcats' slow start and the opponent they were facing – the Clarinda A's – made it an important MINK League contest at Chillicothe's "June" Shaffer Memorial Park last evening.
Having already lost six of seven league games and with Clarinda entering 7-3 in MINK action, the Mudcats needed ace Tyler Minto to continue his sharp, early-season performance. He did.
Coolly working around an uncharacteristic, two-error play behind him that turned a potential inning-ending double play into a 1-0 first-inning deficit, Minto stranded a potential second run at third with consecutive strikeouts of the A's Nos. 4 and 5 hitters and blanked the Iowans through the remainder of a six-inning stint.
Buoyed by his escape act, Chillicothe quickly took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first – the Fish's first runs in 19 innings against Clarinda this year – and went on to a 9-4 triumph. Brian Fisher drove in three runs and Hector Acosta had three hits and two runs batted in to lead the offense.
"The ability to minimize and keep them there (at 1-0) was key," Mudcats head coach Adam Steyer identified the key juncture of the contest.
The victory gave the Mudcats consecutive victories for the first time in 2009 and advanced their records to 2-6 in the league and 4-6 overall. The A's, who lost their first seven games of the summer before claiming seven of their last eight in the loop and 12 of 14 overall, slipped to 12-9 and 7-4.
"We knew, if we came in and stuck to our approach as far as pitching and the defensive side of things, which we knew Tyler would do, our offense was going to get its chance to show these guys that we can supply some run support and we can put pressure on, top to bottom, throughout our lineup," commented the Chillicothe head coach.
Chillicothe will try to make it three straight and back-to-back MINK wins tonight at 7 o'clock when they visit the league's North division-leading Topeka Golden Giants at the Shawnee County Amateur Baseball Association complex in Lake Shawnee, Kan.
Scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Mudcats is Matt Lackner (0-1). The righthander from Park University will step up a spot in the rotation to take the spot of Calvin Drinnen, who is currently is fighting a lower back ailment affecting his leg.
Topeka moved past St. Joseph into the division lead at 8-3 last night with a 5-3 home win over the Mustangs. The Golden Giants stand 8-4 overall.
The Fish are slated to be back home Saturday for a league game against the Mac-N-Seitz Athletics at 7:05 p.m.
Although a three-run sixth inning which gave Chillicothe a 9-1 lead effectively turned the outcome of last night’s game into a foregone conclusion, the game didn’t start promisingly for the home team.
Remarkably guilty of only four errors through their first nine games, the Mudcats committed two on one play to hand their Iowa rivals a gift run and the early lead.
After a one-out walk, Minto induced a one-bouncer from Greg Najac, who had homered in Clarinda’s 2-0 win over the Mudcats eight days before, to first baseman Justin Shults near the bag. Choosing to try force the forceout at second with the hope of it becoming a 3-6-3 double play, Shults wheeled and fired toward shortstop Brian Fisher covering second. Unfortunately for Shults and Chillicothe, at that time of the evening, “Fish” was looking right into the bright evening sun and couldn’t find the ball, which sailed into left-center field.
As lead runner Mike Fuda headed for third, left fielder Tony Nix unwisely through much too late there, allowing Najac to head into second. Even though he was nearly there and slowing down, Chillicothe third baseman Brett Sowers chose to fire the ball to second. That throw didn’t appear to be too off-target, but second baseman Darian Sandford – seemingly not seeing it, although looking away from the sun – didn’t react as the peg sailed by, this time into right-center field.
That let Fuda score easily, put Najac at third with one out, Clarinda up 1-0, and Minto in a bind. One run had been sufficient for the A’s to beat Chillicothe in each of their two prior meetings and now it had a gift-wrapped chance at even more.
Knowing the predicament, Minto turned it up a notch. He caught Steve Culpa looking at a 3-2 pitch and got Rick Hepworth swinging for the first of three-straight times to leave Najac at third.
"That's what Tyler does best; he doesn't let adverse situations get to him," complimented Steyer.
Reprieved by their hurler from a larger deficit, the Mudcats batters quickly showed this third meeting with the A’s would be significantly different.
Against 6’6” righthander Travis Wright, leadoff man Sandford legged out a Baltimore chop off the plate back to the mound for a single. A wild pitch moved him to second and Matty Johnson’s bunt hit to the third-base side of the hill made it first and third with no outs. A quick theft of second by Johnson – one of seven successful pilfers by the larceny-addicted Mudcats on the night – then put two in scoring position.
Watson got Tony Nix on strikes, but Brett Sowers earned his team-best 12th run batted in of the season with a slow tap to third. A wild pitch then allowed Johnson to dart home and Chillicothe was on top, 2-1.
"It starts with those two at the top,” Steyer described the impact the blazing Sandford and Johnson can have. “We kind of go as they do. When they're getting on and setting the table and applying pressure, runs are easier to score."
Chillicothe took control of the game in the third with the aid of two more A’s errors.
After Nix started it with a single and Sowers walked, Justin Schults laid a bunt down the third-base side. As the runners moved up, the throw to first was wild, allowing Nix to score and the others to reach second and third, respectively.
A wild pitch made it 4-1 and, with the infield surprisingly pulled in with no outs, Acosta got his first hit and RBI of the night, bouncing a three-hopper between third and short for a 5-1 lead.
Acosta then stole second, moved to third on John Creely’s sacrifice, and trotted home on Fisher’s bouncer through the left side, his first hit and RBI of the game.
With Minto spacing out six hits over six innings, the Mudcats seized full command in the bottom of the sixth when Steyer and pitching coach Chris Emanuel already had committed to lifting Minto after 95 pitches.
Even though it was still an early-season game, the Chillicothe Mudcats' slow start and the opponent they were facing – the Clarinda A's – made it an important MINK League contest at Chillicothe's "June" Shaffer Memorial Park last evening.
Having already lost six of seven league games and with Clarinda entering 7-3 in MINK action, the Mudcats needed ace Tyler Minto to continue his sharp, early-season performance. He did.
Coolly working around an uncharacteristic, two-error play behind him that turned a potential inning-ending double play into a 1-0 first-inning deficit, Minto stranded a potential second run at third with consecutive strikeouts of the A's Nos. 4 and 5 hitters and blanked the Iowans through the remainder of a six-inning stint.
Buoyed by his escape act, Chillicothe quickly took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first – the Fish's first runs in 19 innings against Clarinda this year – and went on to a 9-4 triumph. Brian Fisher drove in three runs and Hector Acosta had three hits and two runs batted in to lead the offense.
"The ability to minimize and keep them there (at 1-0) was key," Mudcats head coach Adam Steyer identified the key juncture of the contest.
The victory gave the Mudcats consecutive victories for the first time in 2009 and advanced their records to 2-6 in the league and 4-6 overall. The A's, who lost their first seven games of the summer before claiming seven of their last eight in the loop and 12 of 14 overall, slipped to 12-9 and 7-4.
"We knew, if we came in and stuck to our approach as far as pitching and the defensive side of things, which we knew Tyler would do, our offense was going to get its chance to show these guys that we can supply some run support and we can put pressure on, top to bottom, throughout our lineup," commented the Chillicothe head coach.
Chillicothe will try to make it three straight and back-to-back MINK wins tonight at 7 o'clock when they visit the league's North division-leading Topeka Golden Giants at the Shawnee County Amateur Baseball Association complex in Lake Shawnee, Kan.
Scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Mudcats is Matt Lackner (0-1). The righthander from Park University will step up a spot in the rotation to take the spot of Calvin Drinnen, who is currently is fighting a lower back ailment affecting his leg.
Topeka moved past St. Joseph into the division lead at 8-3 last night with a 5-3 home win over the Mustangs. The Golden Giants stand 8-4 overall.
The Fish are slated to be back home Saturday for a league game against the Mac-N-Seitz Athletics at 7:05 p.m.
Although a three-run sixth inning which gave Chillicothe a 9-1 lead effectively turned the outcome of last night’s game into a foregone conclusion, the game didn’t start promisingly for the home team.
Remarkably guilty of only four errors through their first nine games, the Mudcats committed two on one play to hand their Iowa rivals a gift run and the early lead.
After a one-out walk, Minto induced a one-bouncer from Greg Najac, who had homered in Clarinda’s 2-0 win over the Mudcats eight days before, to first baseman Justin Shults near the bag. Choosing to try force the forceout at second with the hope of it becoming a 3-6-3 double play, Shults wheeled and fired toward shortstop Brian Fisher covering second. Unfortunately for Shults and Chillicothe, at that time of the evening, “Fish” was looking right into the bright evening sun and couldn’t find the ball, which sailed into left-center field.
As lead runner Mike Fuda headed for third, left fielder Tony Nix unwisely through much too late there, allowing Najac to head into second. Even though he was nearly there and slowing down, Chillicothe third baseman Brett Sowers chose to fire the ball to second. That throw didn’t appear to be too off-target, but second baseman Darian Sandford – seemingly not seeing it, although looking away from the sun – didn’t react as the peg sailed by, this time into right-center field.
That let Fuda score easily, put Najac at third with one out, Clarinda up 1-0, and Minto in a bind. One run had been sufficient for the A’s to beat Chillicothe in each of their two prior meetings and now it had a gift-wrapped chance at even more.
Knowing the predicament, Minto turned it up a notch. He caught Steve Culpa looking at a 3-2 pitch and got Rick Hepworth swinging for the first of three-straight times to leave Najac at third.
"That's what Tyler does best; he doesn't let adverse situations get to him," complimented Steyer.
Reprieved by their hurler from a larger deficit, the Mudcats batters quickly showed this third meeting with the A’s would be significantly different.
Against 6’6” righthander Travis Wright, leadoff man Sandford legged out a Baltimore chop off the plate back to the mound for a single. A wild pitch moved him to second and Matty Johnson’s bunt hit to the third-base side of the hill made it first and third with no outs. A quick theft of second by Johnson – one of seven successful pilfers by the larceny-addicted Mudcats on the night – then put two in scoring position.
Watson got Tony Nix on strikes, but Brett Sowers earned his team-best 12th run batted in of the season with a slow tap to third. A wild pitch then allowed Johnson to dart home and Chillicothe was on top, 2-1.
"It starts with those two at the top,” Steyer described the impact the blazing Sandford and Johnson can have. “We kind of go as they do. When they're getting on and setting the table and applying pressure, runs are easier to score."
Chillicothe took control of the game in the third with the aid of two more A’s errors.
After Nix started it with a single and Sowers walked, Justin Schults laid a bunt down the third-base side. As the runners moved up, the throw to first was wild, allowing Nix to score and the others to reach second and third, respectively.
A wild pitch made it 4-1 and, with the infield surprisingly pulled in with no outs, Acosta got his first hit and RBI of the night, bouncing a three-hopper between third and short for a 5-1 lead.
Acosta then stole second, moved to third on John Creely’s sacrifice, and trotted home on Fisher’s bouncer through the left side, his first hit and RBI of the game.
With Minto spacing out six hits over six innings, the Mudcats seized full command in the bottom of the sixth when Steyer and pitching coach Chris Emanuel already had committed to lifting Minto after 95 pitches.
