Paints Win Critical Game

Chillicothe 2, North Coast 1

This was a game that the Chillicothe Paints absolutely needed. Why was that? Well, it's because of the fact that the Paints are being hunted down by the second place team in the Eastern Division, the North Coast Knights. The Knights have been playing exceptionally well going into the All-Star break. They have had alot of momentum going into this game, and they had the opportunity to take first place away from the Paints here. This game was as close as you thought it would be. When you have two big bulls or two big time competitors on the same baseball field, you're going to have a great game played, most likely.

Clayton Schulz took the mound for the Paints in this game, and he wasn't bad at all when he pitched. He did get a few hits against him that didn't look so good, especially with that game-tying homerun by the Knights later on in his start, but Schulz was with it again. He was on the ball, and he didn't really drop it. When he left the game, the score was tied 1-1. Schulz would give up just one run on five hits and a walk allowed. In 6 innings pitched, Schulz recorded three strikeouts.

I think I should mention this about Clayton Schulz. I always seem to feel comfortable whenever Clayton does take the mound. He has been one of the more effective pitchers for the Paints' staff. I think he does have such great potential in the future. He's already doing a great job this year. He will still have his shaky starts from time to time, but overall, he's very reliable and I would love to see more of him when next season rolls around for the Prospect League Paints.

Mark Williams only faced two batters in his relief appearance. He was taken out in favor of Blake Mascarello, and Blake would get in two innings of work for his relief appearance. He would strike out two batters. Stephen Shackleford would end up sealing the deal for the hometown team as he came in with a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning. He did a great job of shutting down the North Coast Knights at the right time. I just have to hand it to the pitching staff for this game. This was so well played out by the young men. You always have to like tough and gritty performances.

Now for the offense, shortstop Ben Allen had an infield single and a single. Left fielder Andy Brouse went deep for a solo homerun shot past left center field, and he would also get a stolen base. Eian Banks had an infield single. Third baseman Zach Leonard had a double and an RBI single. The offense didn't get in many hits, but with the hits they did get in, they made those hits count. Give credit to the North Coast Knights, as they did everything they possibly could to shut down the Paints from the mound, and if anything, they hung in there with the home team.

The weather for this game didn't start out as good baseball weather. It was raining and pouring before the game began, and it looked as if there would be some sort of delay, but thankfully, there was only a five minute delay, so that wasn't anything to put a big stamp on. Like I said in past Paints reports, the weather here in Ross County can get a bit crazy. It's not always crazy, but it will get into a crazy period where you don't know what the weather will be like the very next day. Overall, the weather did cooperate, as it was only as bad as cloudy skies, but the teams did get to play, and that's the main thing.