The Chillicothe Mudcats played their final non league contest of the season at home on Friday night, as they lost to the U.S Military WarDogs, 15-8. Since the Mudcats were playing the WarDogs in the contest, the relaxed exhibition game was treated as an all-star game, with many of the Mudcats pitchers trying out their luck as hitters, and vice versa, as many position players came in to pitch for Chillicothe.
The Military WarDogs travelled to Chillicothe as part of their 2024 That Others May Live Tour. They jumped on the Mudcats early, scoring the first seven runs of the game in the first four innings.
The Mudcats would respond by getting on the board with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a three-run bases clearing triple by Samir Lopez, who is normally a relief pitcher. The game would remain at a 7-4 score until the eighth inning, where the WarDogs scored twice in the top half of the frame, and the Mudcats got a run back on an RBI single from Jesus Santos to make the score 9-5.
However, the Military WarDogs gave the Mudcats no chance of a comeback, as they scored six runs on five hits in the top of the ninth to secure the win. The Mudcats pitcher in that inning was Nathan Cupp, who impressively played all nine positions during the game, one position in each inning.
The Mudcats scored the final three runs of the game in the bottom half of the ninth, with RBIs from Jaydon Cabezudo and Ryoma Tada, but their rally was cut short. It was the Military WarDogs’ first win over a MINK League opponent during their tour this season.
While the Mudcats and WarDogs had a lot of fun on the field, the importance of the game on Friday night shifted to some of the pregame ceremonies that were conducted at Shaffer Park. That included touching moments such as the Fallen Hero Guest Ceremony, and the Air Force Honoree First Pitch.
Even though the Mudcats dropped to 15-20 on the season, the players had more fun in this game than many others in the season. Chillicothe players and fans have In addition, due to results elsewhere in MINK League play on Friday night, the magic number for the Mudcats to clinch a postseason spot on the MINK League this season is now down to five.
The Mudcats will take the day off on Saturday before playing eight MINK League games in eight straight days to finish the season. The next matchup comes on the road against Sedalia, as the Mudcats will face the Bombers on Sunday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch. As the final push for the Mudcats begins now, tune into the most important moments of their season right here on KCHI and on kchi.com.
