CHILLICOTHE – Nolan Barr scored on Zach Nelson’s wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Mudcats to a back-and-forth 9-8 win over Carroll at Shaffer Park Monday.
The lead changed four times in the game, with neither team leading by more than three runs at one time. After being walked off twice by Carroll on the road, the Mudcats finally got their revenge.
Nelson threw three wild pitches in his appearance out of the bullpen, and command was a struggle for Merchant pitching all night. The staff combined to issue 14 walks to Mudcat hitters.
After a leadoff single in the ninth by Barr and then a walk to Luis Ramirez, Nelson got Braedyn Brewer to line out. Merchant manager chose to intentionally walk Elijah Maris to load the bases.
A 1-2 fastball to Tyler Bickers slipped out Nelson’s hands and went to the backstop untouched, and Barr trotted home to score the winning run.
Maris reached base five times to lead the Mudcats, who had just six total hits in the game. Carroll’s defense racked up four errors, and only six of the nine Mudcat runs were earned.
Steven Ricketts earned the win for Chillicothe, who improves to 5-10 on the season.
The Mudcats hit the road Wednesday for a trip to Jefferson City. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. C.T.
