After Friday night’s loss to St. Joseph, the Mudcats found themselves in a small three-game skid. With only eight games left on the season going into Sunday night against Nevada, it would feel like every game is must win. Before the game started, Chillicothe and Carroll were tied in the standings for third place. With Carroll getting the off day, Chillicothe would have an opportunity to take at least a half game lead with just one victory. Thankfully, the Mudcats powered through and picked up both wins against Nevada. In game one, Chillicothe won 5-4. In game two, they won 6-5 in walk-off fashion. With their backs against the wall most of the season, the Mudcats alway come out resilient.
Both games were up and down throughout. The pitching excelled for Chillicothe as well, as RHP Layne Rutherford went 4.1 IP, allowing four runs, while striking out eight batters in game one. In game two, RHP Justice Ramirez threw five quality innings while giving up just two runs. The bullpen with RHPs Koby Linder and Caleb Bergman proved to be excellent, as they each kept their teams in the game.
As for the offense, Outfielder Noah Hata would swipe his 40th bag of the season, now ten away from tying to record of fifty. Outfielder Nathan MacLaren also came up big, hitting a two-run home run to left to give the Mudcats a 5-4 lead in game one. Infielder Jackson Lindquist would have a two-hit night in game two with an RBI. The big bat in game two came from Infielder Sammy Cruz. Cruz came into the game early as Infielder Chris Carratala was pulled from the game due to injury. Cruz would come to the plate in the last inning, already hitless on the night. With runners on second and third, Cruz would hit a deep drive to left past the outfielders to score the winning run in Kodai Yaoita.
With the final week of the regular season starting Monday night, it is going to be a tight one. Chillicothe will face divisional opponents throughout the rest of the week, as they play Des Moines three times between Monday and Wednesday. They return home on Thursday to play the first place St. Joseph Mustangs and then flip locations on Friday to play them again. The Mudcats finish up the season on the road in Clarinda on Saturday for the final game of the season. For Carroll, they face Joplin twice, Nevada twice, St. Joseph once and Clarinda in the season finale. Strap in folks, it’s going to be a wild week in the MINK League.
