The Chillicothe Mudcats broke a six game losing streak in the MINK League with an 11-3 triumph over the Warren County Cropdusters on Monday night. It was Chillicothe’s first win in the MINK League since the home opener victory over the Carroll Merchants at the end of May.
The Mudcats picked up the victory at Burleigh Grimes field in Trenton, home of the baseball team at North Central Missouri College, or NCMC, in a neutral site contest. The Mudcats featured six players on the night that had previously played for, or just finished up the season with, the NCMC Pirates baseball team.
Chillicothe scored three runs in the bottom of the first on just one hit, before scoring one run each in the second and third innings, both without getting a single hit. Struggles from Warren County’s starting pitcher, James Jefferson, contributed to the early Mudcats lead.
Those early runs put the Mudcats in front 5-0, but Warren County would fight back, hitting a two run home run in the top of the fourth, and a solo home run in the top of the sixth to cut the Mudcats lead to two, both off of Chillicothe starting pitcher Layne Rutherford. However, Mudcats reliever Jace Brownell got out of a bases loaded jam later in the sixth inning without allowing any more damage, and Chillicothe didn’t look back.
Chillicothe scored once in the bottom half of the sixth on a wild pitch, and twice in the seventh, before plating three more in the eighth off of three hits, two of them being extra base hits from Sammy Cruz and Rafael Calcano in the frame.
Chillicothe’s base-running in the game provided a great advantage for the Mudcats, as they stole 12 bases on the Cropdusters, the second most by the Mudcats in a single game this season. In addition, the Mudcats got key contributions from the bottom of their batting order, which included Noboru Shinohara (three RBI), Nathan Cupp (one RBI) and Rafael Calcano (one RBI).
The Mudcats only mustered six hits on the night, but they took advantage of some poor pitching from the Cropdusters, as Warren County issued 13 walks and hit three Mudcats batsmen. The pitching for Chillicothe, on the other hand, was excellent. The four pitchers on the night for the Mudcats combined for 15 total strikeouts, six for the Mudcats starter Layne Rutherford, and three Ks each for Brownell, Brennan Kettle, and Koby Linder. The final seven outs of the game for Warren County came via strikeouts.
The Mudcats moved to 4-6 on the MINK League season, and 5-6 overall, while handing the Cropdusters (5-6) their sixth straight defeat in the process. Warren County now holds the longest active losing streak in the MINK League.
The Mudcats and Cropdusters will go head to head again tonight at Shaffer Park in Chillicothe in a game rescheduled from last Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 7:05 p.m. Listen to the action of the Mudcats tonight and every other game this season on KCHI and kchi.com.
