The Chillicothe Mudcats fell hard at the hands of the Joplin Jailbirds on Friday evening at Shaffer Park to begin the 8-game homestand in Chillicothe.
The Jailbirds began the scoring on Friday with a second inning run thanks to a triple by Jose Gomez, who then scored on a Mudcat throwing error on the same play. 1-0 Joplin after two innings of play.
The Mudcats tied the ball game up at one run apiece in the bottom of the fourth. Canon Creason lined a double into center field, which scored Koby Wagers, and the game was knotted at 1-1 after four innings.
The fifth inning is where things started to take a negative turn for the Mudcats. The Jailbirds scored two in the inning on a Jose Gomez groundout, and a Jace Midgett double to take a 3-1 lead. The Mudcats had no response in the bottom of the fifth.
The top of the sixth is where Joplin really took over. The Jailbirds sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, and put up a glaring five spot on the scoreboard. A flurry of hit-by-pitches and walks issued by Mudcat pitching was the real stab in the back for Chillicothe in the inning. 8-1 Joplin after the sixth.
The Jailbirds weren’t done there either. A two spot in the seventh gave the visitors a 10-1 lead after seven innings, a loud two-RBI double from Blake Jones scored both in the inning. That score held true through seven innings.
In the eighth, Joplin put the game in mercy rule territory with another two runs. They lead it 12-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth with a chance to end the game an inning early.
The Mudcats didn’t go down without a fight Friday evening. A groundout by Canon Creason brought home Slater Hooke to make it 12-2. However, the Mudcats stranded the game- extending run on third base, and the game ended after eight innings.
The Jailbirds fly away with a 12-2 victory on Friday evening in the eight innings over the Mudcats, and win all three games against the Mudcats at Shaffer Park this season. The two will play a three-game series in Joplin from July 23 to 25 at Joe Becker Stadium.
The Mudcats fall to 8-17 on the season with Friday’s loss, and they return home on Saturday evening to take on the Clarinda A’s at Shaffer Park. First pitch on Saturday is at 7:05 p.m.