Riding The Slippery Slide

Slippery Rock 2. Chillicothe 1

Compared to the other game between the two teams at V.A. Memorial Stadium, this night really wasn't as bad when you think about it. Thankfully for me, I wasn't at the 10-1 slide ballgame the other night, so I didn't miss much then. This game wasn't nearly as bad. True, the Slippery Rock Sliders still came out triumphant, but at least the Chillicothe Paints can say that they were in this game and that they had some chances to make this game interesting. I still can't tell what it is about these two teams when they play each other. Whenever the Paints go to Slippery Rock, they do win pretty often, and that's the same for the Sliders when they come to Chillicothe. They come here, and they win pretty often, too.

Tony Bertucci made the start for the Paints. He took the mound and he did a good job early on, but as the game nearly got into the middle innings, he was getting in trouble with the opposing offense, and he would give up some hits that would ultimately determine the result of the ballgame. Bertucci would go 7 innings deep, giving up 6 hits and a walk. He would give up a pair of runs. He would strike out 5 batters.

Overall, he was in there to get his work in, and rightfully so because of the rules and regulations set forth by the Prospect League. He hung in there and didn't give up any more runs than those two, so the defecit wasn't that impossible to overcome for the good guys.

Krist Linster and Chadd Steinborn would each put in an inning of relief each, and they would do just fine and dandy, as they used to say. Linster pitched an inning and struck out a batter. Steinborn pitched an inning and struck out a batter. The going was actually quite easy for the bullpen in this game, and they did what they could to keep the Paints in the game. One thing that I have noticed in most Prospect League games is that the games in this league are very well even sliced. You have a close margin between two teams, and there are equal opportunities to climb back into games and actually win some of those tight games.

For the offense, Kyle Galbraith had only one at-bat, and that was in the first inning. He was pulled in favor of Steven Mirizzi, and Mirizzi would play the rest of the game at center field. Speaking of Mirizzi, he only had a stolen base and he grounded into two fielder's choice plays. Shortstop Ben Allen had an RBI single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had a double. Second baseman Kyle Gendron had a double. Right fielder Eian Banks had a single. Third baseman Kyle Leonard had an infield single. DH Brandon White had a single.

The offense just wasn't enough for this game. Only run was scored for the Paints, and that's how you could sum up the game's progress. There wasn't enough done on the field in this game. The team did do some good things, and they definitely had their eyes on the ball compared to the other night, but the Slippery Rock Sliders did it again.

They did what they had to do to win. They performed exceptionally well here. Both teams put in solid efforts, but obviously, one team can walk off the field victorious. The Paints were basically batting balls over to places that just weren't favorable for their liking. In other words, the balls found their way into the Sliders' gloves.

First baseman Cory Maguire made his return to the Paints starting lineup in this game. The reason for his absence was because of an injury that he sustained a while back. It has taken Cory some time to recover from those injuries, but he's getting back into the thick of things, and what's better is that the Paints will get back a certified first baseman back into their everyday routine.

Plus, I managed to talk to Cory Maguire before the game, and he was upbeat and optimistic as always. He's a good guy to have a discussion with. I could tell that he was happy to have that Paints jersey on and know that he would be back on the playing field doing what he loves to do. That's what baseball players do. They enjoy the moments when they're out on the field. I know that it's a great feeling. Getting your opportunity to do what you can do is very much satisfying and it helps measure you up against the rest of the league and playing time shows you how you need to improve your skills.