The Chillicothe Mudcats lost against the hottest team in the MINK League on Wednesday night, as the Clarinda A’s picked up their sixth consecutive win by defeating Chillicothe, 11-5.
The A’s now have sole possession of second place in the MINK League standings, and have won 12 of their last 13 games. The Mudcats have dropped their last three contests, but have still won three of their last seven matchups.
Both teams started the game by scoring one run each in the first inning, with the Mudcats run coming off of an error by Clarinda shortstop Sean Bazmore, one of the eight errors committed by the two teams combined on the evening. The A’s scored in the first inning after back-to-back two out hits on Mudcats starting pitcher, Koby Linder.
Clarinda continued their consistent hitting early in the game, as another two out RBI single, this one by Joey Caruso, made it 2-1 in the second. Caruso would get another big hit in the fourth, this one an RBI double, to make the Clarinda lead 3-1 heading into the fifth.
In the fifth, the A’s expanded their lead to 7-1, scoring four runs on just one hit, and taking advantage of two Mudcats errors. Linder also allowed two walks in the inning, and was pulled before he could complete the fifth.
However, the Mudcats would show some great resiliency in the top of the seventh, as a Clarinda error plated one Mudcats run, and Chillicothe would score two more on a two run double by Jackson Crawford with the bases loaded. That made the game 7-4 in Clarinda’s favor, and the Mudcats could sense a potential comeback in the making.
However, A’s would shut down any ideas of a comeback attempt with four runs, two of them unearned, in the bottom half of the frame to make it 11-4. The A’s got five of their twelve hits on the night in the seventh to finish the Mudcats off.
The Mudcats would score the final run of the night as Sammy Cruz took an RBI walk with the bases loaded. That was the same inning that Mudcats head coach Tyler Hudlow was ejected for the second time this season after arguing with the infield umpire.
The Mudcats scored their five runs on nine hits, but could have had more, as they left the bases loaded in three separate innings. They ended up leaving 14 runners on the base pads, compared to Clarinda stranding 12 batters.
One bright spot on offense, however, was Drew Sanidad, who went 4-5, becoming the second Mudcat this season to register four hits in a single game, after Tanner Sears had four hits against Sedalia earlier this season. Sanidad reached all five times he came to the plate, and stole four bases. That brings his stolen base total on the season to 19, which leads the team.
The Mudcats fall to 9-15 overall and 8-15 in the MINK League standings. They are tied for the sixth and final playoff spot in the standings alongside Warren County. In addition, the Mudcats still have been unable to pick up a victory against Clarinda this season, with the A’s now 5-0 against Chillicothe in 2024.
The Mudcats will now prepare to take on their rivals, and leaders in the MINK League standings, the St. Joseph Mustangs (19-3), at home in a matchup that will take place on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Make sure to catch every single second of Chillicothe Mudcats baseball this season by tuning in live on KCHI and on kchi.com.
