The Long Road To A Win

Chillicothe 7, Butler 3 (12 innings)

Wow. This game was pretty long and just listening to every minute of a game that lasted about four hours would be nerve pinching by all means, but in the end, the Chillicothe Paints still managed to find a way to win a ballgame. I guess that's what happens when you just don't have it easy in the later innings of the game. That's been common for the Paints, to be honest. Many of the games that I've either listened to or watched have involved the Paints being in pressure situations, being in a tight game with teams who have given it their all against them.

This game was fought hard by both teams. The Paints were taking care of business early on, but the Butler Blue Sox were taking care of business later on. This game seemed to have a split personality almost, and I'm not kidding when I assume that. The pace of this game was kind of slow during the regularly scheduled innings, but in the later innings, and then in the long extra innings, the pace of the game picked up a bit, and the intensity kept rising with each passing inning from there on.

Clayton Schulz, way back when, made the start for this game. He would contribute to the team's efforts the best way he could by putting in six innings of work. He would give up 4 walks and 3 hits while recording 7 impressive strikeouts. Schulz was a bit shaky early on, even though he didn't give up a run. He wouldn't give up a run for his start, once again adding to the great season that he's had with the Paints this year, and at the time, things looked good for him to get his seventh win of the year.

The bullpen, on the other hand, had other ideas...

This was the nerve pinching part in this game. It was simply devastating to listen to what happened during the eighth and ninth innings because the Paints were up 3-0 over the Blue Sox at the time, and gradually, the Blue Sox came back and tied the game at 3-3 a piece. Mark Willliams pitched 1 and 1/3 innings, giving up two walks and a hit, while giving up two runs. Krist Linster pitched 1/3 of an inning, giving up a hit. Stephen Shackleford gave up a walk, a hit, and a run, pitching 1 and 1/3 innings. Chadd Steinborn pitched an inning, giving up 3 walks. Brad Schnitzer broke the mold of flawed relief performances and sealed the deal, amazingly, for the Paints. He gave up a hit while striking out a batter.

Surprisingly enough, the offense didn't feature one pinch hitter the entire game, so the starters toughed it out the whole way. Shortstop Ben Allen had two singles and an RBI. DH Kyle Gendron had a single. Third baseman Zach Leonard had a single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had two singles and two stolen bases. Catcher Andrew Marshall had two singles and an RBI. Right fielder Eian Banks had two singles and an RBI. First baseman Cory Maguire had an RBI single. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a single.

This was just a huge win for the Chillicothe Paints. This was what they team needed, for sure. With this win, the Paints now stand tall at 30-21, 3 games ahead of the North Coast Knights for first place in the Eastern Division, and this win officially eliminates the Butler Blue Sox from appearing the Prospect League Championship Series. The four hour wait for this win was definitely worth it.