The Chillicothe Mudcats put together one of their most complete performances of the season on Sunday night, taking advantage of a thin roster from the Warren County Cropdusters, and winning 11-1 in seven innings via the run rule at Shaffer Park
The Mudcats were up 10-1 in the bottom of the seventh, and had already scored one run in the inning when a wild pitch from Warren County pitcher Diego Morales allowed Peyton Becker to score from third base, which put the run rule in effect.
Both teams had strong defense through the first three innings, and it was actually Warren County who took the lead in the top of the fourth, opening the scoring through a sacrifice fly that made the score 1-0. At the end of the day, that would be the only run they scored.
The Mudcats would flip the score completely in the bottom half of the fourth, as they rallied off six consecutive hits to start the inning, with Warren County failing to make a single out at that point, and ultimately scored five runs, making the score 5-1.
They added onto their lead with four runs in the sixth inning, with consecutive two out hits from Drew Sanidad, John Spoto, and Jorey Anderson, which made it a 9-1 ballgame. They also knocked out the Warren County starter, Devin Doyle, in that inning and extended their advantage. After that, the Mudcats brought two runs home on two hits in the seventh inning, and sent everyone home early on the day.
The Mudcats had 18 total hits in the game, the most in a single game for the Mudcats this season. The Mudcats also got hits in every inning but one, and 13 hits in the final four innings. Some of the star hitters for the Mudcats included Peyton Becker, Julio Guerrero, and Justin Dameron, who all finished with three hits each. In addition, it was the first time since a game against Nevada in late May where every Mudcat in the starting lineup posted a hit.
On the mound for the Mudcats, starting pitcher Jaydon Cabezudo was fantastic, pitching all seven innings and striking out eight batters, only allowing one run on two hits for his first win of the season. He only allowed four total Warren County batters to reach base in his best start of the season to date.
The win for the Mudcats breaks a four game losing streak in league play, and they now sit at 11-16 on the season, and 9-16 in the MINK League. They remain in sixth place in the MINK League standings, with Warren County sitting in seventh, the Cropdusters now 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with the loss. The two teams will face off against each other again on Saturday, when Chillicothe will travel to Des Moines for a doubleheader against the Cropdusters.
The game on Sunday started a stretch where the Mudcats will play seven games in an eight day span, and their next contest will be tonight, when they face the Carroll Merchants at home, with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. The Mudcats will look to continue their great record against the Merchants, as they are 4-1 against Carroll this season. Tune into the first game of July and every single Mudcats game for the rest of the season on KCHI 102.5FM 1010 AM
