After six innings of play on Thursday night in Sedalia, the Chillicothe Mudcats trailed the Sedalia Bombers 5-0 while being no-hit. After getting Bombers starter Josh Hagle out of the game, the Mudcats scored one run in the seventh inning, one more in the eighth, and down to their final strike in the ninth got the tying run on base. Their ninth strikeout of the game ended the ninth, and with it, Chillicothe’s furious late-game rally in the 5-2 loss.
Yet again, the Mudcats found themselves in a pitchers duel. For the first three innings, Hagle and Chillicothe starter Caleb Bergman quickly traded scoreless frames. Hagle worked around a leadoff walk in the fourth, but when Bergman walked the first batter of that inning, he came to score.
Pitching for the first time with a lead, Bergman threw two more scoreless innings making it six on the night without a hit or run allowed. It was a different fate for Bergman, who after being sent out for the sixth in a 1-0 game, got tagged for a four-run inning.
It began with two weak ground balls. One was an error at second base, and another beat the shift for a seeing-eye single. Bombers catcher Lance Vickers, who threw out four men on the bases, drove in two runs to make it 3-0 and knock Bergman from the game. The bullpen surrendered two more to put the Mudcats in a five-run hole.
Hagle was removed from the game in the seventh, and Chillicothe made the most of it. Utilizing four pinch hitters in the final three innings, the Mudcats nearly came all the way back. Down 5-2 with two out and the bases empty in the ninth, walks from Tanner Sears and Christian Carratala, and a Peyton Becker single put the tying run on base. All three players entered as a pinch hitter. With the bases loaded, Rafael Calcaño struck out to end the game.
The loss drops the Mudcats to 0-3, and they will visit St. Joseph Friday night to renew their rivalry with the Mustangs.
Winning Pitcher: Josh Hagle (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Caleb Bergman (0-1)
Save: Dawson Torpey (1)
Time of Game: 2:21
