Hanging On In Style

Chillicothe 3, Butler 2

This game featured many interesting moments, and forgive me for saying this, but I can't recall some of those interesting moments, but what I can recall would be moments like Paints first baseman Cory Maguire snatching a short fly ball in mid air to save it from going to the outfield. I can also recall the times where the Paints at least tried to turn two (a double play) in probably the hardest ways imaginable. Plus, I do recall the moment towards the end of the game where the Butler BlueSox started to lose it emotionally and two of their guys got tossed from the ballgame by the home plate umpire, with one of them being a good friend of mine, BlueSox manager Jason Wuerfel.

The Paints made things quick and easy early on in the game when it came to the offense. The pitching started off a bit slow but it picked up at the right time. The Paints got in three runs early, and thankfully for the home team, three would be all the runs that they really needed.

Blake Mascarello made the start for the Paints. He took the mound on the friendly confines of V.. Memorial Stadium and would pitch six innings deep, giving up no runs at all off of two hits and a walk allowed. That was basically it by a pitcher who had previously seen alot of action coming from the bullpen this year. Mascarello struck out four batters, and I have to say that he looked pretty solid in each of those four strikeouts. He had a good day and he kept his team in the game, holding onto that 3-0 lead throughout his start.

Mark Williams pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up two hits, a walk, and a run. He struck out a batter. Tony Davey came into the ballgame and pitched an inning of relief, giving up only a hit. Stephen Shackleford would pitch the rest of the game, going 1 and 1/3 innings, and would get the job done for the Paints, getting the save and sealing the victory for the home team. He gave up a hit, a walk, and a run while striking out a batter.

For the offense, they may have cooled down compared to the other night, but they still did a good job of getting those timely hits in. There's nothing that they did really wrong here. They got in those hits, and they made those hits count. They did what they could in playing situational baseball, and I think they made the most of it even with three runs.

DH Kyle Gendron, batting second in the lineup, had an infield single. First baseman Cory Maguire had a single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had a single and a double. Right fielder Eian Banks got an RBI off a sacrifice fly. Catcher Andrew Marshall had a single. Third baseman Zach Leonard had two singles. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a single. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a single and a stolen base.

This was another good game played by the Paints. They seemed to have a better jump to their steps as they were fiedling each ball and they clearly made better use of the situations that they were given. This team is getting back to the early days of the year when they were just hitting left and right. I mean, if you look at what's been happening lately at the V.A., then you would know that they're feeling it when they play now.

The BlueSox gave the Paints their best shot, and kudos to Butler for giving us good games throughout the year. They have been keeping us in check along with Slippery Rock and NorthCoast when it comes to extra important games on the schedule. The Paints are inching their way closer to end of the year, and the chances of seeing one more home game at the V.A. is looking better by the day. Stay tuned, folks. This is going to get interesting soon.

By the way, I won the Best Seat In The House promotion tonight, so that meant that I got to have some Papa Johns pizza as a reward. Obviously, I enjoyed the pizza, and I had three good slices, and I gave the other fives away to other Paints fans who were delighted to have some pizza. Hey, I just couldn't finish it, so I think it was a nice thing to do to be a team player for the loyal fans of the Paints and give out some free pizza.