The Hottest Game On Turf

Chillicothe 11, Butler 3

This was a great game.

That's how I would sum up this ballgame. Everything that the Chillicothe Paints had to do to win this game went right into place. I simply loved how this game played out. You could take in a game like this because the Paints were clicking on all cylinders. Things just worked. When you're getting into a home stretch kind of schedule for the end of a season, things just happen to pick up a bit. The Eastern Division standings are fairly tight, and knowing that they were up against a hard charging Butler BlueSox team, the Paints handled this beautifully.

Let's start with the pitching and get that out of the way. For the Paints, Eric Heckaman made the start, and I have to say this right now. This had to be one of the best, if not, then probably the best, start I've seen from him this year. Heckaman was firing lasers from the mound against Butler here, and he just continued to take the batters down once he got into a groove. It was fun seeing him get to work.

Heckaman would pitch five innings deep in his start, and he would have trouble when it came to the walks. He gave up one run off five walks and a hit, but thankfully, that was all the damage that he gave up, and considering what the offense would do to help him, it was more than enough for Heckaman to have a good night. He would end up striking out five batters, so there's nothing really wrong at all to point out. He was just great. He was just solid. Good job, Eric.

Brad Schnitzer would be the only relief pitcher who would see action for the Paints in this game, so he would pitch the other four innings fo the game, and he had a good time overall. Schnitzer would give up two hits and two runs, but he would strike out two batters, and he did his job. He got the batters out and never let the BlueSox get back into this game.

Now let's get to the really interesting part of this game...the offense.

In the second inning, shortstop Ben Allen went all the way around the bases for an inside the park homerun, getting a ball hit out to the big gap made by Butler's defense out in right center field. I admit it, I was yelling out loud while Ben was rounding third base and heading for home. I just can't help it because those types of plays are just too exciting not to raise your voice about.

DH Kyle Gendron would have a single and a double. First baseman Cory Maguire would have a single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had a great night with the bat. He had two singles, a double, and an RBI. Right fielder Eian Banks had an immense night with the bat. He had an RBI single and then he came back in teh fourth inning and he just ripped a pitch for a three-run homerun shot past left field.

Catcher Andrew Marshall, coming back from nagging leg injuries, had two singles and an RBI. Third baseman Zach Leonard had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a good night. He had two singles and an RBI. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had an RBI single. This night just took me back to the nights where this was kind of common for Paints baseball. This was a nice trip down memory lane, and I'm aware that I talk about the Frontier League Paints, but hey, this night was just one of those nights. I was thrilled about this game, and with each passing day, there will be a better chance of the Paints actually being there at the end.