The Chillicothe Hornets baseball team entered Tuesday’s regular season finale 17-11 hosting St. Pius. The Hornets had defeated Savannah on Monday 5-2 moving Chillicothe to 5-1 in the MEC. The Hornets win over Savannah set up a de facto conference championship game at Shaffer Park as the Hornets and the visiting St. Pius Warriors each were 5-1 in the MEC, tied for 1st place on the final day of the conference season.
The Hornets began with Noah Rinehart on the mound and he was excellent in establishing rhythm for Chillicothe. Rinehart allowed just one hit in the first three innings and Chillicothe took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd when Cooper Robinson singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on a hit from Sammy Rodenberg, then scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Hubby Ralls.
Chillicothe maintained the 1-0 lead until the 6th inning when Mike Mange lined a double into deep left center with two outs scoring a pair of runs for St. Pius to take the lead. Rinehart finished off the inning without any further damage and concluded his night on the mound allowing just 4 hits compared to 5 strikeouts plus the two runs surrendered.
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the 7th, the Hornets brought Howie Donoho in to pitch. Chillicothe posted another defensive stand preventing the Warriors from adding to their lead in the final frame. Chillicothe’s Hubby Ralls lead off the bottom of the 7th with a blast into the outfield for a double. Ty Earwood, the starting pitcher for St. Pius would then get his team within two outs of the win before being replaced by Hudson Bailey. After Bailey struck out the first Chillicothe batter he faced, Koby Wagers came to the plate and was down to his final strike with Ralls stuck on 2nd when Wagers delivered a crucial connection into left field, for an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the 7th. The Hornets then continued the 2 out rally, loading the bases with a chance for a walk-off winner. However St. Pius fielded the Hornets line drive attempt which sent the contest for the MEC crown to extra innings.
To open the 8th, Jack Reavey was walked and once again Mange stepped up to the plate with two outs and a runner on 2nd. Just as he did in the 6th to put the Warriors ahead, Mange made the play, a grounder in the gap this time, scoring Reavey on the single. Chillicothe facing the 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the 8th, had a baserunner with two outs. Once again it was Hubby Ralls looking to cross home plate and extend the game. He advanced to first on a walk, but this time the Hornets were unable to pull themselves back from the brink. Falling narrowly 3-2 in extra innings.
The Hornets conclude the regular season 17-12, 5-2 in conference play, runners-up in the MEC. It is the best overall and conference record for Chillicothe baseball since they won the MEC in 2017. Coach Troy Figg and his team earned the #1 seed in the Class 4 District 16 tournament and will play the winner between Lafayette and Cameron on Monday in the semifinals.
