The Chillicothe Mudcats picked up a big road win over Sedalia on Sunday night, beating the Bombers 7-4 in the first of two big games over a two day span. The Mudcats won the game over the Bombers by scoring in just two of the nine innings, and allowed less than five runs to their opponents in a road game for just the fifth time this season.
After not registering a single hit in the first three innings of play, Chillicothe scored four runs on three hits in the top of the fourth to break a scoreless deadlock, using RBI hits from Jackson Crawford, Sammy Cruz and Jorey Anderson to build a 4-0 lead. The Mudcats also had four stolen bases in the frame.
Sedalia would get one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning, but they stranded the bases loaded in that frame. They cut the lead to two when Chris Miller doubled and reached home on a wild pitch to make the score 4-2.
Then, in the eighth inning, the Mudcats scored three runs, one of them unearned, to capture important insurance runs at the end of the game, with Crawford nabbing another RBI on a sacrifice fly. That helped the Mudcats build their comfortable lead back, and the score stood at 7-2 in Chillicothe’s favor going into the ninth.
Sedalia would score two more runs in the ninth inning, but Chillicothe shut down any attempts of a late Bomber comeback, with relief pitcher Caleb Bergman tagging a runner out at second base to help put out a small fire in the final inning. The Bombers stranded nine runners on the base pads, compared to Chillicothe only leaving six runners on.
Mudcat veteran and starting pitcher Koby Linder was strong again on the mound, pitching 6.1 innings in his quality start. In his second win of the season, he gave up two runs on two hits. Bergman and Lopez also provided strong innings out of the Mudcats bullpen. The Mudcats defense also stepped up, turning two important double plays in big spots to preserve the Mudcats lead. The offense registered eight hits, while drawing seven walks, as all but one hitter in the Mudcats starting lineup reached base.
For Chillicothe, it was their first win over Sedalia this season, and it was just the fifth road victory for the Mudcats this season. It takes them to 16-20 on the season. Overall, and 14-19 in the MINK League. The magic number for the Mudcats to clinch a postseason spot in the MINK League now stands at three.
Chillicothe now has a chance to split the regular season series with the Bombers in their fourth meeting tonight, which will be played at Shaffer Park. If the Mudcats win that game, they will be just a half game behind the Bombers in the MINK League standings. If they end up overtaking Sedalia by the end of the week, they will host a postseason game at Shaffer Park.
The big game for the Mudcats will begin at 7:05 p.m. at Shaffer Park. Be sure to check out the exciting action from your Chillicothe Mudcats at the end of the regular season by tuning in live to KCHI and kchi.com.
