The Chillicothe Hornets baseball team was at Carrollton on Thursday in a matchup between two teams with impressive records on the year. Chillicothe entered the contest at 9-2 while Carrollton was 7-1.
The Hornets opened with a bang, in the first inning senior Noah Rinehart blasted a ball over the fence in right field, then Howie Donoho added another run to take a 2-0 advantage. In the 2nd inning, the Hornets loaded the bases but were unable to capitalize, as the score remained 2-0.
Donoho drew the start on the mound for the Hornets and was sensational. The junior struck out the first nine batters he faced, the entire starting lineup for Carrollton returned to the dugout without putting a ball in play. Entering the bottom of the 4th, it was still a two run lead for Chillicothe when Liem Potter’s line drive single into left scored Logan Stain and the Trojans cut the deficit in half.
Chillicothe had chances to add to their total, but it wasn’t until the top of the 7th when Hubby Ralls launched a solo homer over the fence in left field that gave Chillicothe some breathing room, then Noah Rinehart made it two runs in the frame as he scored on an RBI from Dane Ireland.
Donoho was relieved on the mound after 4 innings, allowing just one run on one hit and striking out 11 batters. Ralls came on in relief, and Carrollton made the Hornets work to preserve the win. Trailing 4-1, the Trojans loaded the bases, down to their final out. Potter looked to provide another scoring opportunity, but his line drive into the outfield was grabbed by centerfielder Jack Marshall to end the game, as the Hornets tallied their tenth win on the season.
Chillicothe is now 10-2 on the year and will host Moberly on Monday.