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Mudcats Quiet M.I.N.K.’s Top Offense in Clarinda

It was not until Friday night that the Chillicothe Mudcats had their first meeting of the season with the Clarinda A’s. Coming off a 1-7 record against them in 2024 that included a loss in the M.I.N.K. semifinal, the Mudcats flipped the script for a 5-1 win at Clarinda Municipal Stadium.

 

The A’s came into the game leading the league in nearly every offensive category including batting average, extra-base hits, and walks. Their lineup has produced more than nine runs per game. But on Friday, Blake Exizian, Joshua Rego, and Ryotara Hirayama combined to hold Clarinda down to a single run off five hits.

 

The Mudcats had a 1-0 lead before the A’s recorded their first hit. In the third inning, Jarian Pinckney singled, stole second, and scored on a hit from Tanner Sears.

 

Exizian maneuvered around a hit and an error in the bottom of the inning, and held onto the slim lead into the fifth. With two out and nobody on, Clarinda used two singles sandwiched between a walk to tie the game.

 

The game remained tied until the seventh, when the Mudcats brought around a leadoff walk. Ziah Chang advanced to second on a groundout, stole third, and came home after the throw from the catcher got into the outfield.

 

The 2-1 lead would have been enough, but Chillicothe did not stop there. In the eighth, they scored their most memorable run of the year.

 

With Rafael Calcaño at first base, the Mudcats bunted him over to second. The A’s third baseman threw the out at first from the ground, which left third uncovered for Calcaño to take. In a scramble to run him down at third base, Clarinda left home unmanned, which Calcaño took advantage of to score a run on the play.

 

If scoring a runner from first base on a sacrifice bunt was not enough, a couple of batters later Pinckney blasted a drive to deep left field for his second home run of the season, and made it 5-1 Mudcats.

 

While it was still 2-1, Rego got six high-leverage outs. He stranded a runner on third in the sixth inning, and left a man on second in the seventh. After that, it was Hirayama that came in to finish the job.

 

Hirayama retired six of the seven Clarinda A’s he faced to extend his season’s remarkable start to 14 scoreless innings pitched.

 

With the win, Chillicothe is now 9-7 in league play, which is just three games behind Clarinda for second place. The Mudcats will host Carroll on Saturday night.

 

Winning Pitcher: Joshua Rego (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Dylan McIntyre (0-2)

Time of Game: 2:31

Box Score