The Chillicothe Hornets baseball team was in the their first district championship game since 2021 on Wednesday night from Missouri Western in St. Joseph. As the #1 seed in the Class 4 District 16 tournament, the Hornets were the official home team against #2 seed and district host Savannah.
Chillicothe started Noah Rinehart at pitcher and the right handed junior was in control from the start. Even with runners on the corners in the first inning, Rinehart did not succumb to the pressure, getting out of the early jam. The game was still scoreless in the bottom of 2nd when Cooper Robinson stole 3rd base. The errant throw from the Savages catcher allowed Robinson to come home and score.
With the Hornets ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Noah Rinehart hit a single into shallow right, then Howie Donoho was walked by Savannah’s starting pitcher Braylon Ellis. That would be the last batter Ellis would face as the Savages brought Jagger Jackson to the mound. Immediately Chillicothe capitalized with a Dane Ireland double into deep left field, scoring Rinehart and Donoho. Hubby Ralls followed that up with another double to the fence in left to bring in Ireland. A Robinson bunt helped Ralls round third and score to make it four runs in the frame, and a 5-0 Chillicothe lead.
Savannah’s Jackson responded with a double to lead off the 4th inning, ultimately scoring and putting the Savages on the board. Chillicothe entered the bottom of the 5th inning ahead 5-1 when the Hornets opened the floodgates. Starting with Christian Still delivering the first RBI of the inning, next it was Jack Marshall, two from Donoho and Ireland adding another one, before the inning was up, Chillicothe had scored five times and Savannah had to go back into the bullpen.
Meanwhile Rinehart remained on the mound in the top of the 6th holding onto a 10-1 advantage, after retiring the side Rinehart would step up to the plate looking to walk the game off with the bases loaded to enact the 10 run rule. Rinehart hit a ground ball inside first base sending Oliver Perry home and the celebration was on for the Hornets in St. Joseph.
The 11-1 win over Savannah marks the 3rd District Championship for the Chillicothe baseball program, and the 2nd in 5 years. Rinehart earned the win on the mound pitching the entirety of the game, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out four Savage batters. Chillicothe will move on the the Class 4 sectional round and will face either Excelsior Springs or Benton on Tuesday.
