After the the game on Opening Night was all about the Mudcats fielding and pitching, the second game of the season was all about the offense.
The Chillicothe Mudcats moved to 2-0 on the young season Wednesday night with a win in Southern Missouri over the Nevada Griffons, with a surprising scoreline of 19-10.
Chillicothe raced out to a 4-0 lead after the top of the second inning, scoring two of their first four runs on balks from the Nevada starting pitcher. But then, the Griffins scored seven runs in the bottom half of the second, taking their first and only lead of the game.
The Mudcats hit around the batting order in the third inning, scoring six runs in the top half as the Griffons pitching staff walked in four of the runs. Nevada did cut into the Mudcat lead in the bottom half, scoring twice to make it a 10-9 score.
Chillicothe would then score three more runs in the fourth, two of them coming off of a Noboru Shinohara triple. They also scored one run in the sixth off of a Tanner Sears RBI base hit.
A bizarre play occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning. As the Mudcats were turning a double play, all of the flood lights in the stadium turned off, which caused a brief 15 minute delay. The Mudcats would end up getting out of the inning without allowing a Nevada run.
Chillicothe would plate five more runs to add a big amount of insurance in the top of the ninth inning, and the Mudcats pitching staff did not allow a single Griffon run to score past the fourth inning. Sophomore Max Randis would pick up his first ever collegiate win in the matchup, as he pitched two scoreless innings.
The 19 runs were more than a Mudcats team had scored in a single game in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Mudcats only had 13 hits, but took advantage of 19 walks issued by the Nevada pitching staff. The Mudcats also stole 18 bases in the game, bringing their season total to 26 this season. 10 different Mudcats players scored at least 1 RBI in the contest, including every single starter in the batting order, and one pinch hitter in Peyton Becker.
The Mudcats will look to move to 3-0 tonight with their home opener when they face the Carroll Merchants, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tune into tonight’s matchup live on KCHI and also on KCHI.com
