CHILLICOTHE – Chillicothe led wire-to-wire Friday, but needed late insurance runs to fight off Joplin and hang on for a 12-10 victory at Shaffer Park.
The Mudcats jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after four innings, but that would nearly evaporate an inning later, as the Outlaws responded with six runs of their own in the top of the fifth.
Bailey Quint had a strong first four innings on the bump for Chillicothe, but began to lose command in the fifth. He walked two and hit another in that frame, and three Mudcat errors in the inning only compounded the issue.
Chillicothe led 11-6 after seven innings as well, but the Outlaws rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth. An insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Jonas Espinal would be enough to hold on, and Nolan Barr came in to slam the door for the save on his scheduled off day.
Brayden Hudson reached base all six times in the leadoff spot for the Mudcats Friday. He and Espinal combined for seven of Chillicothe’s 11 hits in the game.
With the win, Chillicothe improves to 2-5.
The Mudcats are back at Shaffer Park Saturday to take on the Joplin Outlaws for the second straight night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. C.T.
