CHILLICOTHE – Tanner Sears doubled twice, drove in two, and closed out the ninth inning on the mound, and Chillicothe beat St. Joseph 5-2 at Shaffer Park Tuesday for their first win of the season.
Sears’ two-run double in the third inning put Chillicothe up for good, and he would add another double in the eighth. He now leads the team in extra base hits.
The Mudcats scored four of their five runs in the bottom of the third inning, all of which were aided by two Mustang errors. All five runs the Mudcats scored in the game were unearned.
Ryan Sell gave the Mudcats a good start and worked masterfully out of trouble multiple times. St. Joseph left 17 runners on base in the contest.
Koby Linder, who tossed three shutout innings in relief, earned his first victory of the season.
Jonas Espinal, who ranked fourth in the MINK League in batting average before the game, turned in another 2-for-4 performance, and is now near the .500 mark to start the summer.
Rob Butler tallied the only RBI for the Mustangs on a single with one out in the first inning.
With the win, Chillicothe improves to 1-4.
The Mudcats are back at Shaffer Park Thursday to take on the winless Des Moines Peak Prospects. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. C.T.
