The Chillicothe Mudcats lost to the top team in the MINK League, the St. Joseph Mustangs, on Thursday night in a tight low scoring contest at Shaffer Park that finished 4-1.
It’s just the fourth time this season where the Mudcats have only been held to one run or less this season, and the second time where St. Joseph limited them to that number this year.
The Mustangs opened the scoring with a two out base hit RBI in the top of the second from Carson Schmidt. They added to the lead with a two out double in the sixth inning from Dom Felix to make it 2-0 in their favor.
The Mudcats would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning. A leadoff single by Drew Sanidad, followed by a walk from Joey Anderson, gave the Mudcats runners at first and second base with no one out. Sammy Cruz would bunt both runners over one base, and then a groundout from Jackson Crawford scored Sanidad from third, which ended up being the only Mudcats RBI on the night. That made the score 2-1, and put the Mudcats back in the game.
However, St. Joseph would add insurance runs in the eighth inning. After relief pitcher Brennan Kettle walked the leadoff batter, Jeter Mauzey, he allowed Mauzey to score on a wild pitch. He also walked Dom Felix in the inning, and he would also score, this time on an RBI double by Jayden Little that gave the Mustangs two important insurance runs, and made the game 4-1.
Both teams pitching was impressive tonight, with Chillicothe starter Jordan Marlott pitching seven innings, and allowing just two runs in his highlight appearance on the mound so far this season. Steven Escarcega also pitched an inning and two thirds of scoreless baseball in relief at the end to keep the Mudcats in the game.
However, the Mustangs pitching was better than the performance that the Mudcats pitching staff put together. St. Joseph’s starter, Roy Holcomb pitched five shutout innings and struck out four, walking two, to pick up his fourth win in the MINK League this season. After some initial trouble, St. Joseph reliever Trenton Roehler would only give up one run in four innings of work out of the bullpen, and also picked up a save.
While it was a valiant effort from the Mudcats against the best team in the MINK League, they only could muster one run on four hits, and left the bases loaded in an inning as well. They did well to hold the Mustangs offensively, as St. Joseph did have 10 hits, and stranded 10 baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded in multiple innings.
Chillicothe is now 9-16 on the season overall, and 8-16 in the MINK League, with tonight’s loss being their fourth straight. St. Joseph is now 20-3 in the MINK League, which is a phenomenal record for the top team in the MINK League standings. The Mustangs have owned the rivalry series against the Mudcats this season, now standing at a perfect 5-0 against the Mudcats so far, with the two teams facing off against each other two more times in the regular season.
The Mudcats now take a break from MINK League action, as they face off against the KC Monarchs for their second non league matchup on the season. The Mudcats already beat the Monarchs earlier this season, 3-2, in their other non league game. Their second matchup against the Monarchs takes place tonight at 7:05 p.m., and all the action from that game and every single Mudcats game this season will be live on KCHI and on kchi.com.
