After the Chillicothe Mudcats clinched a postseason spot on a walk-off home run on Wednesday night, their exciting four game win streak in the MINK League was snapped on Thursday night, as they came out flat and lost 10-7 on the road against Nevada. The Griffons, who were already eliminated from MINK League postseason contention, snapped their own eight game losing streak in the process.
It was just the third time this season that the Mudcats and Griffons squared off, and it was Nevada’s second win over the Mudcats this season. Both teams will face off one final time in Nevada on Saturday night.
Chillicothe scored first on the night, with an RBI single from Noboru Shinohara getting the Mudcats in front, 1-0, in the top of the second. It was Shinohara’s second RBI base hit against Nevada on the road this season, the other RBI coming back in late May.
Unfortunately, Nevada would hold the lead from there for the rest of the game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second, and two runs in the bottom of the third, to take a 5-1 lead, all on just two hits combined. Chillicothe starting pitcher Sungbin Park struggled, only going 1.2 innings, giving up four walks and hitting three Nevada batsmen.
Chillicothe would battle back though, as Sammy Cruz hit an opposite field two run home run to cut the deficit to 5-3, one of his three hits on the night in his best game at the plate this season. It was also Cruz’s first home run of the season. Nevada, however, would score three more runs, one unearned, in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 8-3 in their favor. One of their runs came on a solo home run by Diego Flores, which was Nevada’s only home run on the night.
Chillicothe wouldn’t give up though, as the home run party continued in the sixth. A solo shot from Nathan Cupp, the second Mudcats home run in the game, made the score 8-4 in the sixth, giving Cupp his first homer of the season.John Spoto would score on a wild pitch in the seventh, making it 8-5. Spoto finished with three hits, and two doubles on the night, continuing the fantastic week for him at the plate.
Nevada would ultimately score two decisive insurance runs, one of them unearned in the bottom of the eighth, creating a mountain to climb for the Mudcats heading into the top of the ninth. The Mudcats would not go away, as doubles from Spoto and Cruz in the ninth helped the Mudcats make the score 10-7.
Chillicothe ultimately sent the tying run to the plate, with runners at first and second and two outs. Unfortunately, there was no more later magic left for the Mudcats, as Drew Sanidad grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
It was a sloppy defensive game from both teams on the evening, as Chillicothe and Nevada combined for nine total errors in the matchup. That included a Nevada player committing five errors on his own, but the Griffons’ offense helped back up their poor defense. Nevada has now scored 31 runs against Chillicothe in the three matchups against the Mudcats this season.
Chillicothe moves to 19-21 on the season, and is now 17-20 in MINK League action. the fall to 6-10 on the road, and lose their third game in the last four matchups that have taken place on the road. Nevada, on the other hand, picked up just their fifth home win of the season, a consolation prize for the team that was mathematically knocked out of postseason contention earlier this week.
The Mudcats still have three games to play, all of them on the road. If they win two of them, they will host a postseason game at Shaffer Park on Monday night. The Mudcats can also clinch a home postseason game, and the number four overall seed in the MINK League playoffs, with one win in their next three games, and a Sedalia loss in the Bombers’ regular season finale against Jefferson City on Friday night.
Next up for the Mudcats is the Clarinda A’s in a rescheduled game that will take place today at 4:00 p.m. It’s a single 7-inning game today on the road for the Mudcats, as they play the first game in a rare three-team doubleheader. Clarinda will face the Carroll Merchants in the second game of the doubleheader. Be sure to tune in this afternoon for more fun Mudcats baseball live on KCHI and on kchi.com.
