Cookies and Milk on the road

Chillicothe 10, Slippery Rock 3

While the Chillicothe Paints were taking the All-Star break to get some much needed rest, I was taking a break of my own the other day. This is, of course, not important information, but I figured I may as well explain myself as to why there wasn't a report made for the road game between the Paints and the Butler Blue Sox. I was away just enjoying myself, and getting some much needed fresh air. I was spending some time with my family, and I was putting in some physical education as I was out to the bowling alley for a few games, and later on in the day, I was running around on the tennis court hitting some tennis balls a bit too hard. Needless to say, I felt somewhat sore after all that.

What does that have to do with Paints baseball? Well, that might actually point out that athletes who are gifted in one sport will try out other physical activities in their spare time, mainly during the offseason. Bowling four games at the bowling alley, and running around working out your mobility on the tennis court for about an hour will do just the thing to keep athletes well conditioned. Athletes should stay active doing something, and I'm sure that at least 90% of commited athletes are out and about doing many physical activities.

Now without further a do, here's your regularly scheduled report about Paints baseball.

Overhearing what Greg Bigam was talking about from the radio broadcast of this game, I found out that Paints manager Brian Mannino had something special planned for his players. Here's the scoop, if the players did anything good during this game, then Mannino would give those players at least one smiley face cookie that he got along the way to Slippery Rock. I find that to be a fun tidbit, and that's great material to type down, because stories similar to this pretty much made up that one great book about the Paints called "Everything Happens in Chillicothe." You know, that book that featured the one-eyed umpire Max McCleary and his stories involving the Paints.

The cookies are going to be a good reward for our hometown batters, because here's what they did.

Shortstop Ben Allen had a single, a stolen base, and an RBI. Right fielder Brandon White had an RBI double. Zach Frentsos had a single. Andy Brouse had two singles. Third baseman Kyle Gendron had two doubles and an RBI. Center fielder Eian Banks had a great power night, as he had an RBI triple in the extensive fourth inning, and he simply crushed a pitch for a three-run homerun shot in the seventh inning. Catcher Kris McDonough had a breakout game, getting a double and a pair of RBI's. Second baseman had a single, a double, and a stolen base.

Well, with offensive statistics like that, Brain Mannino might have to go get a few more extra cookies. I don't know, but that's just a thought.

Tony Bertucci took the mound as the starting pitcher for the Chillicothe Paints. He took on a resurgent, and that may be putting it mildly, lineup in the Slippery Rock Sliders on their home turf at Jack Critchfield Park. Bertucci's start ended up being pretty quiet, but he did a great job. There's not much to say when it comes to the stats that involved Tony, but he only gave up four hits and struck out a batter. The best thing is that he didn't give up a single run. This start can be classified as quiet, but solid.

Krist Linster, Blake Mascarello, and Brad Schnitzer all went out to the mound coming from the bullpen. Linster and Schnitzer were kind of wild in this game, but not overly. Linster gave up a hit, a walk, and a run in one inning fo work. Schnitzer pitched the last two innings of the ballgame, and while the eighth inning wasn't anything very spectacular for him, Schnitzer came back in the ninth and shut the Sliders down for good, sealing the victory for the visting Paints. He gave up three hits, a walk, and two runs. He would strike out a batter.

Overall, the Paints have jumped out of the gates very well. In the game that I wasn't able to report to my readers, the Paints did a great job at Butler Pullman Park to down the Blue Sox 9-6. That game involved 18 Paints hits, while this game featured 12. I believe it was only rest that was needed for the Paints. Eventually, it does get tiring when you have to keep going out day after day to the field and trying to concentrate when your body may not be at the same level concentration, and not to mention, the fatigue is a critical factor.

However, there's only about 15 games left for the Paints in this young and early Prospect league season, so there won't be a long stretch after this All-Star break. Things are looking very good for where Ross County's own team might be headed. Stay tuned...and have a cookie while you're at it.