Chillicothe led wire-to-wire Friday, but needed late insurance runs to fight off Joplin and hang on for a 12-10 victory at Shaffer Park. The Mudcats jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after four innings, but that would nearly evaporate an inning later, as the Outlaws responded with six runs of their own in the top of the fifth. Bailey Quint had a strong first four innings on the bump for Chillicothe, but began to lose command in the fifth. He walked two and hit another in that frame, and three Mudcat errors in the inning only compounded the issue. Chillicothe led 11-6 after seven innings as well, but the Outlaws rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth. An insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Jonas Espinal would be enough to hold on, and Nolan Barr came in to slam the door for the save on his scheduled off day. Brayden Hudson reached base all six times in the leadoff spot for the Mudcats Friday. He and Espinal combined for seven of Chillicothe’s 11 hits in the game. With the win, Chillicothe improves to 2-5.
Joplin and Chillicothe played just more than two innings before severe weather interrupted a 6-6 game in the top of the third Saturday night at Shaffer Park. The two will resume the game when the Mudcats travel to Joplin on July 12 and will be the first game of a doubleheader. Joplin started hot, knocking around Mudcat hurler Layne Rutherford for six runs in the first two innings. Chillicothe responded quickly though, scoring five times in the bottom of the second inning thanks to three walks and a game-tying two-run single from Justin Sanchez.
Carroll scored seven times in the ninth, capped off by a three-run walk-off homer by Hunter Reid, and the Merchants took down the Mudcats 9-6 in a thriller at Merchants Park Sunday. Chillicothe led 6-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, but the first four hitters reached for the Merchants, all of whom came around to score. Steven Ricketts was one out away from getting out of the jam and forcing the game to extras when the Mudcats intentionally walked Garrett Freeman, who finished the day 3-for-4. That gave way to Hunter Reid, who was previously hitless in the game. Reid drove the game-winner deep to left field for his first home run of the summer, and it was enough to put the Merchants over the top in a stunning comeback victory. This is the second time the Merchants have walked off the Mudcats this year. The other came in the season opener on a single in the bottom of the 12th, giving Carroll a 16-15 win. Both teams wasted good starts from their pitchers. Will Loesch tossed four solid innings for the Mudcats, giving up a single run on four hits. Ryan Riddle went six deep for the Merchants, allowing just one run while striking out nine. Chillicothe’s five-run eighth was enough to rally from a two-run deficit, but that evaporated in the bottom of the ninth thanks to four walks by Mudcat pitching in the final frame alone. The Mudcats fall to 2-6 on the season with the loss. The Mudcats are back at Shaffer Park Tuesday for another round with the Carroll Merchants. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.