Paints Bounce Back at McBride

Chillicothe 6, Richmond 2

After dropping a game that involved final inning heroics by Richmond's offense the previous night, the Chillicothe Paints managed to bounce back and win this second game at Don McBride Stadium. The Paints did just enough to get the victory. Scoring 6 runs happens to be a good number, after all. The most interesting thing to note here would be the added emphasis on the stolen base category. The Paints did a splendid job on the basepaths. In total, the Paints stole five bases in this game, and Richmond wasn't able to throw them out during any of those stolen base attempts.

Third baseman Kyle Galbraith had two of those stolen bases. He had a single for this game. Shortstop Ben Allen did not steal any bases, but he had a good day at the plate, as he got in three singles, with two of them being of the infield variety. Left Fielder Andy Brouse, who is leading the Paints in overall offense, had an RBI double in the seventh inning. First baseman Cory Maguire had another one of those stolen bases. He had two singles and got a pair of RBI's in all. Right fielder Eian Banks had an infield single. Center fielder Zach Frentsos had a single and a double. Steven Mirizzi came off the bench to pinch hit, and he had an RBI double in the eighth inning. Tim Krofcheck had the last two stolen bases, but oddly enough, he didn't get any hits. Still, he made a great impact in this game because of his distinctive speed on the basepaths.

Tim Bertucci made the start for the Paints. This game had an early start time of 2:35 PM, so this had to be a nice change of pace for both teams. As for Bertucci, the early start time seemed to fit him well as he went 4 and 1/3 innings deep in his start. He gave up two runs on seven hits allowed. He gave up a walk, and he got in two strikeouts. Blake Mascarello pitched 2 and 2/3 innings of relief, and he didn't have any runs charged to him. He gave up two hits and a walk, but he struck out three batters. Brad Schnitzer put in an inning of work and only gave up a walk. Chadd Steinborn pitched the last inning of the game, and only gave up a hit. He proceeded to strike out a batter and retire the side, denying any chance of deja vu happening.

This was just a well played game, in my opinion. I really did appreciate the aggressiveness that we showed on the basepaths. Tim Krofcheck is one speedy guy, and I really like the hustle he shows, and not to mention the motor he has. Tim may be the fastest baserunner on our team, but I can't be certain about that. I also want to note that Richmond shortstop Raymond Fuentes has been making an impact for his team lately. As mentioned by Andy Smittenkamp, Fuentes had the game winning hit the previous game, and it seems to me like he's another player who has great potential of busting loose one day. He has been a good find for their club, and that also reminds me that the more impactful players in the Prospect League have so far been shortstops.