CHILLICOTHE – Chillicothe’s offense came alive early Friday at Shaffer Park and the Mudcats took advantage of six Clarinda errors, beating the first-place A’s 7-3 to end a four-game losing streak.
A two-out RBI single from Jonas Espinal followed by a two-run single from Luis Ramirez in the second inning were big difference-makers as the game continued, and the Mudcats never trailed past the first inning.
Clarinda, who game into the game as the best defensive team in the MINK, committed four of their six errors in the first two innings, and several of them came on routine plays. That didn’t help A’s starter Adam Becker, who lasted just four innings and gave up all seven runs in the game, five of which were earned.
Meanwhile, Mudcat hurler Will Loesch tossed four solid innings in his start, giving up just two earned runs while striking out four. He didn’t last long enough for the win though, and his Minnesota-Morris counterpart Cole Mammenga also slung four quality innings to earn the victory.
Elian Guzman continued his offensive turnaround, improving to over .200 on the season with a 3-for-4 outing, including an RBI double.
Nolan Barr also had a third-inning triple, which was his first three-bagger of the season. Offensively, the Mudcats racked up 10 hits—the most in any game since June 25 at Nevada in a loss.
Chillicothe improves to 11-20 on the season.
The Mudcats return to Shaffer Park Saturday to take on the Nevada Griffons. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. C.T.
