Chillicothe 6, Lorain County 3
The Chillicothe Paints returned to the home ballpark of their Ohio rivals the North Coast Knights...scratch that, the team in Lorain have changed their team name to the Lorain County Ironmen, and that team name wasn't just thought up on the fly, but more on that later. The Paints returned to the Pipe Yard and they played a solid baseball game against the Ironmen. The Paints did win, but towards the end it got a bit tight. I guess there's nothing like getting used to your surroundings as a Summer Collegiate baseball player. It's only the second game of the season and the only hiccup worth mentioning was the bullpen.
Eric Heckaman made the start for the Paints, and being only one of three returning Paints from last season, Heckaman has a better grasp of what to do in a Summer Collegiate league. He did a pretty good job in this game as he would go on to pitch six innings of baseball, giving up six hits, a walk and two runs for the night. Eric didn't record a strikeout but he didn't need to while he was in there. Ryan Robertson from Rio Grande University pitched an inning of relief and he did record two strikeouts. Jared Messer from Malone University pitched an inning of baseball and he had the most trouble of all the pitchers for the Paints, but he did enough to keep the Ironmen down. He gave up three hits, a walk and one run, but the Paints had one spare run in their pocket so Messer was okay, striking out a batter in the process. Keenan White pitched the ninth inning and shut down the Ironmen, striking out a batter.
Now for the offense, centerfielder Cody Elliott had a good night, getting two singles while one RBI and one stolen base tagged along with his stats. First baseman Ian Nielson also had a good night, and he only needed one hit to make his statement. He went deep for a 3-run homerun in the third inning that gave the Paints what they needed to win this game. Right fielder Jeff Holm had an RBI single. Third baseman Jeff Corfman had two singles. Catcher Brandon White, another one of the returning three Paints players from last year, had two singles and an RBI. Shortstop Ryan McMillin had a single. A few runs that were scored in this game were unearned, so that will explain why you won't find some RBI's in this review.
One thing I do have to note about the season that's going to unfold would be the odd number of teams once again. As I've mentioned before months ago, the Prospect League now has 15 teams, a number that's up from 11 last year. An odd number of teams means an oddly formed schedule, so there will be times where your team will be away for some time and then all of sudden they'll come back home and play at home for some time, and then there will be times where numerous one-game and two game sets will pop up, making the overall grind of the season pretty interesting, in my oopinion. Odd schedules aren't a bad thing at all, and in fact, I quietly like odd schedules, but it would be helpful to have an even number of teams in the future.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Start of a New Season
Chillicothe 8, Richmond 2
Now I may be a bit rusty when it comes to writing articles such as this one because I have been busy with other things during the offseason and there has been some new developments since I last reported news on this blog. I hope that for those who still want some baseball news from this blog will be reading this latest installment. It gives me such good pleasure to write these articles for your enjoyment.
Now without further a do, let's get this article up and running. Welcome to the 2010 baseball season for the Chillicothe Paints of the Prospect League. This will be the second year in the Prospect League for the Paints, and to recap what happened for last year, the Paints made it to the Prospect League Championship Series but only to lose to the eventual PL Champions, and a very classy and respected baseball organization as a whole, the Quincy Gems. However, everything went pretty smooth for baseball in Chillicothe in year one of the Prospect League. That leads one to wonder how well will the Paints do in year two of the Prospect League era.
June 3, 2010 marked the beginning of the second year and it didn't take long at all for the Paints to make some noise and to give their community something to cheer for. Opening Night at the friendly FieldTurf confines of V.A. Memorial Stadium was a blast to put it in a nutshell. Infielder Torsten Boss, a newcomer to Ross County, went deep on the very third pitch of the game (and I somehow kept track of that fact even though I'm not very good at catching those details), and Torsten's solo home run shot pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night, and that tone was definitely a positive tone.
Before I forget, I do have to note that the Chillicothe Paints organization, led by team owner Chris Hanners of course, have given V.A. Memorial Stadium some improvements such as a brand new roof for the stadium. For those of you who have been to the V.A., you probably know why we needed a new roof to be installed. The thing was that the old roof was starting to fall apart for the diehard Paints fans. The old roof has been leaking water for some time now whenever there has been heavy rainfall, and take it from me, who has been sitting near the most direct spot of the leaking, I believe a new roof was definitely needed. The old roof didn't make it feel like Niagra Falls, but sometimes outsiders could have gotten that impression. I love the new roof. It's very sturdy and strong. It's just what the doctor ordered. Oh wait...
As for the game itself, the tone had been set already within the first three pitches, and the hometown team didn't look back after that first solo home run shot. Infielder Ian Nielson had a single for the night. Infielder Jeff Holm had a single and a stolen base. Outfielder Anthony Wieber and an infield RBI single. Catcher Payton Bieker had a great game. He hustled his way to third base for an RBI triple and he would also get an infield single. Returning outfielder Brandon White had an RBI single. The largest amount of what I guess I would like to call "Bat Thunder" would be made from shortstop Ryan McMillan. In the bottom of the sixth inning, McMillin would hit a well hit ball over to the scoreboard in left center field, clearing the official yellow line for a 3-run home run, and it was this home run shot that further separated the Paints from their opponents the Richmond Riverrats and cemented the victory for the Paints.
Of course, while you do need runs from your offense to get you the win, you also need a solid contribution from the guy who's on the bump pitching for you, and for the Chillicothe Paints on Opening Night, they got a solid contribution from the youngster from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Matt Barnes. Barnes, who is also a newcomer to Ross County, pitched a dandy of a game to start his Paints stint. He went six innings deep in his start and he would only give up one run while also giving up just three hits and three walks. Barnes had four impressive looking strikeouts in this first start.
Returning pitcher Blake Mascarello pitched two innings of relief and he would give up just one run off of four hits. He struck out a batter and he did a good job of basically holding down the opposing offense, and that's all you could ask from a relief pitcher in a situation like this. The game is well in hand, so there are no worries. If only I had that one word from the movie The Lion King to help me describe the feel of this game. I believe the character Timone said something that meant "there ain't no worries for the rest of your days."
Kyle Lindquist came in for the ninth inning and shut the Riverrats down, making quick work of the Richmond bats and sending the Paints fans home happy. I have to say that I was more than impressed with the results of this first game, and note that I said "results" and not "result." We got a good win, but I'm looking at what our players did to get us that first win. They played very well in this game and hopefully this game will help set the tone for what is to come for the rest of the Prospect League season.
Now I may be a bit rusty when it comes to writing articles such as this one because I have been busy with other things during the offseason and there has been some new developments since I last reported news on this blog. I hope that for those who still want some baseball news from this blog will be reading this latest installment. It gives me such good pleasure to write these articles for your enjoyment.
Now without further a do, let's get this article up and running. Welcome to the 2010 baseball season for the Chillicothe Paints of the Prospect League. This will be the second year in the Prospect League for the Paints, and to recap what happened for last year, the Paints made it to the Prospect League Championship Series but only to lose to the eventual PL Champions, and a very classy and respected baseball organization as a whole, the Quincy Gems. However, everything went pretty smooth for baseball in Chillicothe in year one of the Prospect League. That leads one to wonder how well will the Paints do in year two of the Prospect League era.
June 3, 2010 marked the beginning of the second year and it didn't take long at all for the Paints to make some noise and to give their community something to cheer for. Opening Night at the friendly FieldTurf confines of V.A. Memorial Stadium was a blast to put it in a nutshell. Infielder Torsten Boss, a newcomer to Ross County, went deep on the very third pitch of the game (and I somehow kept track of that fact even though I'm not very good at catching those details), and Torsten's solo home run shot pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night, and that tone was definitely a positive tone.
Before I forget, I do have to note that the Chillicothe Paints organization, led by team owner Chris Hanners of course, have given V.A. Memorial Stadium some improvements such as a brand new roof for the stadium. For those of you who have been to the V.A., you probably know why we needed a new roof to be installed. The thing was that the old roof was starting to fall apart for the diehard Paints fans. The old roof has been leaking water for some time now whenever there has been heavy rainfall, and take it from me, who has been sitting near the most direct spot of the leaking, I believe a new roof was definitely needed. The old roof didn't make it feel like Niagra Falls, but sometimes outsiders could have gotten that impression. I love the new roof. It's very sturdy and strong. It's just what the doctor ordered. Oh wait...
As for the game itself, the tone had been set already within the first three pitches, and the hometown team didn't look back after that first solo home run shot. Infielder Ian Nielson had a single for the night. Infielder Jeff Holm had a single and a stolen base. Outfielder Anthony Wieber and an infield RBI single. Catcher Payton Bieker had a great game. He hustled his way to third base for an RBI triple and he would also get an infield single. Returning outfielder Brandon White had an RBI single. The largest amount of what I guess I would like to call "Bat Thunder" would be made from shortstop Ryan McMillan. In the bottom of the sixth inning, McMillin would hit a well hit ball over to the scoreboard in left center field, clearing the official yellow line for a 3-run home run, and it was this home run shot that further separated the Paints from their opponents the Richmond Riverrats and cemented the victory for the Paints.
Of course, while you do need runs from your offense to get you the win, you also need a solid contribution from the guy who's on the bump pitching for you, and for the Chillicothe Paints on Opening Night, they got a solid contribution from the youngster from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Matt Barnes. Barnes, who is also a newcomer to Ross County, pitched a dandy of a game to start his Paints stint. He went six innings deep in his start and he would only give up one run while also giving up just three hits and three walks. Barnes had four impressive looking strikeouts in this first start.
Returning pitcher Blake Mascarello pitched two innings of relief and he would give up just one run off of four hits. He struck out a batter and he did a good job of basically holding down the opposing offense, and that's all you could ask from a relief pitcher in a situation like this. The game is well in hand, so there are no worries. If only I had that one word from the movie The Lion King to help me describe the feel of this game. I believe the character Timone said something that meant "there ain't no worries for the rest of your days."
Kyle Lindquist came in for the ninth inning and shut the Riverrats down, making quick work of the Richmond bats and sending the Paints fans home happy. I have to say that I was more than impressed with the results of this first game, and note that I said "results" and not "result." We got a good win, but I'm looking at what our players did to get us that first win. They played very well in this game and hopefully this game will help set the tone for what is to come for the rest of the Prospect League season.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Returning to the field of play
This is Steven Vitte reporting, and I would like to announce that I will be coming back to give you reports from the Prospect League, an up and coming summer collegiate baseball league, for the 2010 baseball season. I admit that it's been some time since I've last reported on anything baseball related, but rest assured, there has been stuff to talk about, and I believe it's time to report again. Now I enjoy doing what I do. I do enjoy writing articles, but I have found a new passion in the field of writing, such as scriptwriting and making stories, so it's been rather interesting to see how I've progressed as a writer in general.
Now as mentioned previously last year, I had often wondered what the Prospect League would do when it came to the first round of expansion for 2010. In 2009, there were 11 teams playing in the league, which was an odd number, and that led to an interesting looking schedule where one team would sit out for a day or a few days while the other 10 teams would play. Having an even number of teams would seem to be essential and prefered, but after this round of expansion in the offseason, it turns out that the league still has an odd number amount of teams, at least for the moment.
The Prospect League has added four more teams to make the league grow from 11 to 15 teams. The West Virginia Miners, the Terre Haute Rex, the Dekalb County Liners, and the just recently added Nashville Outlaws are the four newest teams to the Prospect League. Since it's now a 15 team league, the Prospect League has expanded from two divisions to three divisions of 5 teams each. The Eastern Division will consist of the Chillicothe Paints, the Butler Blue Sox, the NoirthCoast Knights (but they have been labeled as Lorain, so stay tuned...), the Slippery Rock Sliders, and the West Virginia Miners. The Central Division will consist of the Danville Dans, the Dubois County Bombers, the Nashville Outlaws, the Richmond RiverRats and the Terre Haute Rex. The Western Division will consist of the Dekalb County Liners, the Dupage Dragons, the Hannibal Cavemen, the Springfield Sliders, and the defending Prospect League Champions Quincy Gems.
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20100122/SPORTS/1220326/1006/rss02
Here's the Chillicothe Gazette story on the Nashville Outlaws joining the Prospect League, and I have to say that this was an addition that clearly came from left field, but then again, I probably shouldn't say that since the home of the Nashville Outlaws has a huge wall out in left field. The Outlaws will play their home games at Hawkins field, and that's located in the Nashville that you're thinking of. Nashville, Tennessee is in the Prospect League. That's what makes this addition rather interesting because I personally wasn't expecting to hear of this news. I wasn't thinking of Tennessee when I thought of the Prospect League's map, but this just so happens to be a confident summer college wooden bat league that's willing to take on teams from some ways for one season, and then supposedly bridge the gap later on.
Here's what league president, and close friend, Bryan Wickline had to say about the Outlaws:
"Nashville had everything the league was looking for when discussing expansion. Nashville has a rich baseball history, a terrific venue in Hawkins Field and experienced ownership to make the Nashville Outlaws a successful franchise in the Prospect League."
The Outlaws are owned by a group of three executives in Brandon Vonderharr, Jason Bennett and Chris Snyder, and they make up the Nashville Baseball Club LLC.
The addition of the Nashville Outlaws really catches my eye because this could signal some other additions in the future that involve either the state of Tennessee or nearby states, such as Kentucky, more exploring in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. I have often wondered if Michigan and Wisconsin will join the Prospect League party eventually, but that remains to be seen because there haven't been any reports of possible teams setting up shop in those places. I remember going down to Tennessee for a bus trip, and believe me, I can't wait to tell you how that trip went. It was great. That was the thing that really stood out to me this past offseason. I went down to Jackson, Tennessee, the home of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, to see an old friend. Tennessee is a great baseball state, in my opinion, and I have read some stories about the past of baseball in Tennessee, so when I find the time, I'll be sure to tell you a story or two about that.
As for the other three additions to the Prospect League, I believe that these are very sound and logical additions. I have always wanted to see my hometown team, the Chillicothe Paints, take on a team from the state of West Virginia, but we haven't been able to do that at all, but that will change this year as the West Virginia Miners will come to town often. The Dekalb County Liners are an interesting case. I'm interested in knowing how they came up with the name "Liners" for the team, so I'm hoping I'll get to find out sooner rather than later. I have read some stories about Terre Haute, Indiana wanting to be in the Frontier League if that could be done, but apparently with the addition of a Prospect League team, that doesn't seem so likely anymore.
Certainly, the look of the Prospect League has changed quite a bit in just one offseason, and this adds some intrigue as to what will develop from here. Once there's something else to report on the Paints or on the Prospect League, then I will do just that, like always.
Now as mentioned previously last year, I had often wondered what the Prospect League would do when it came to the first round of expansion for 2010. In 2009, there were 11 teams playing in the league, which was an odd number, and that led to an interesting looking schedule where one team would sit out for a day or a few days while the other 10 teams would play. Having an even number of teams would seem to be essential and prefered, but after this round of expansion in the offseason, it turns out that the league still has an odd number amount of teams, at least for the moment.
The Prospect League has added four more teams to make the league grow from 11 to 15 teams. The West Virginia Miners, the Terre Haute Rex, the Dekalb County Liners, and the just recently added Nashville Outlaws are the four newest teams to the Prospect League. Since it's now a 15 team league, the Prospect League has expanded from two divisions to three divisions of 5 teams each. The Eastern Division will consist of the Chillicothe Paints, the Butler Blue Sox, the NoirthCoast Knights (but they have been labeled as Lorain, so stay tuned...), the Slippery Rock Sliders, and the West Virginia Miners. The Central Division will consist of the Danville Dans, the Dubois County Bombers, the Nashville Outlaws, the Richmond RiverRats and the Terre Haute Rex. The Western Division will consist of the Dekalb County Liners, the Dupage Dragons, the Hannibal Cavemen, the Springfield Sliders, and the defending Prospect League Champions Quincy Gems.
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20100122/SPORTS/1220326/1006/rss02
Here's the Chillicothe Gazette story on the Nashville Outlaws joining the Prospect League, and I have to say that this was an addition that clearly came from left field, but then again, I probably shouldn't say that since the home of the Nashville Outlaws has a huge wall out in left field. The Outlaws will play their home games at Hawkins field, and that's located in the Nashville that you're thinking of. Nashville, Tennessee is in the Prospect League. That's what makes this addition rather interesting because I personally wasn't expecting to hear of this news. I wasn't thinking of Tennessee when I thought of the Prospect League's map, but this just so happens to be a confident summer college wooden bat league that's willing to take on teams from some ways for one season, and then supposedly bridge the gap later on.
Here's what league president, and close friend, Bryan Wickline had to say about the Outlaws:
"Nashville had everything the league was looking for when discussing expansion. Nashville has a rich baseball history, a terrific venue in Hawkins Field and experienced ownership to make the Nashville Outlaws a successful franchise in the Prospect League."
The Outlaws are owned by a group of three executives in Brandon Vonderharr, Jason Bennett and Chris Snyder, and they make up the Nashville Baseball Club LLC.
The addition of the Nashville Outlaws really catches my eye because this could signal some other additions in the future that involve either the state of Tennessee or nearby states, such as Kentucky, more exploring in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. I have often wondered if Michigan and Wisconsin will join the Prospect League party eventually, but that remains to be seen because there haven't been any reports of possible teams setting up shop in those places. I remember going down to Tennessee for a bus trip, and believe me, I can't wait to tell you how that trip went. It was great. That was the thing that really stood out to me this past offseason. I went down to Jackson, Tennessee, the home of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, to see an old friend. Tennessee is a great baseball state, in my opinion, and I have read some stories about the past of baseball in Tennessee, so when I find the time, I'll be sure to tell you a story or two about that.
As for the other three additions to the Prospect League, I believe that these are very sound and logical additions. I have always wanted to see my hometown team, the Chillicothe Paints, take on a team from the state of West Virginia, but we haven't been able to do that at all, but that will change this year as the West Virginia Miners will come to town often. The Dekalb County Liners are an interesting case. I'm interested in knowing how they came up with the name "Liners" for the team, so I'm hoping I'll get to find out sooner rather than later. I have read some stories about Terre Haute, Indiana wanting to be in the Frontier League if that could be done, but apparently with the addition of a Prospect League team, that doesn't seem so likely anymore.
Certainly, the look of the Prospect League has changed quite a bit in just one offseason, and this adds some intrigue as to what will develop from here. Once there's something else to report on the Paints or on the Prospect League, then I will do just that, like always.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Frontier League changes player rules
Starting next season, a team can have three veterans and three two-year players, an addition of one two-year player.
In another, likely very popular, move, a club can have one player older than 27 (up to age 30) if that player has been under contract with the team for at least 100 games in the previous two seasons.
In another, likely very popular, move, a club can have one player older than 27 (up to age 30) if that player has been under contract with the team for at least 100 games in the previous two seasons.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
New Manager
Here is a link to a story about Fran Riordan being hired by the Lake County Fielders in the Northern League.
http://www.northernleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1255382572
Does anyone think that this could mean the move of Kalamazoo to the Prospect League? Thus leading Fran to move on to the Northern League. Just a question?
http://www.northernleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1255382572
Does anyone think that this could mean the move of Kalamazoo to the Prospect League? Thus leading Fran to move on to the Northern League. Just a question?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A night of milestones
Last night we attended the Washington at Windy City game. Washington's Chris Sidick tied Fran Riordan's career record for games played, which he will break tonight. Later in the game, Windy City's Gil Mejia stole his 100th career base, becoming only the third player in Frontier League history to reach that mark.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
It Was Close...
Quincy 4, Chillicothe 2 (Quincy leads PLCS 1-0)
Say what you will about the ninth inning doing the team in, and by all intents and purposes, the error to start the top of the ninth might have done it, but overall, this was a competitive game played by both the Quincy Gems and the Chillicothe Paints. This was definitely how I expected the game to be. I pretty much knew going into this game that Quincy weren't no pushovers to begin with. After all, the Gems are the best team in the Prospect League win-loss record wise, so it's no surprise to see the consistency coming from this team. Even during their brief practice right before this game started, I could tell that they were very much in sync with what they were doing. Simply put, they were focused.
Going into the Prospect League Championship Series, the Paints had to make decisions as to who to give the ball to for this Game 1 start. They chose A.J. Achter to carry the load for this first game. Achter, to his credit, did everything he could to make this start count. I do openly admit that Achter was a bit shaky in the first three innings of this ballgame, as I noticed that he was dancing around the strike zone, but not technically hitting his spots. However, from what I saw from that point on, Achter was pitching brilliantly down the stretch of his start. As he got deeper into his start, the more he just found his rythym, and at the time, this was a huge thing for the Paints.
Achter would pitch an amazing 8 innings deep in his start, and he would give up two earned runs in all on 6 hits allowed and one walk to boot, but he would come back and record 5 strikeouts. Towards the end of his start, Achter was really feeling it. He knew exactly where the strike zone was, and he wasn't holding anything back, mowing down Quincy's offense with surprising ease.
You know, it's amazing just how much I can get my hopes up whenever I go see a playoff game involving the Paints. You always hope that one year will be the year for the Paints, that they'll finally raise a championship flag over V.A. Memorial Stadium, and granted that can still happen if they manage to win both of these road games on Quincy's turf, but as I watch on to see Paints playoff games progress, there's always one thing that will set us back and flatten our tires, so to speak.
Blake Mascarello took the mound for the ninth inning, and at first, he wasn't all that bad. Seriously, he was doing a fine job until that error third baseman Zach Leonard made to open the door for the Gems in the top of the ninth. It was from here that Mascarello started to come undone. He would give up a walk and two hits, and he would give up two more runs to the Gems. The tie was eventually broken by the precision and the execution by the Gems.
For the offense, Ben Allen had an RBI single. Kyle Gendron had a single. Right fielder Eian Banks had such a great game here, and if you just look at the stats, then you'll be convinced that he did a great job. Eian went deep to left center field, blasting a solo homerun shot that hit the V.A.'s scoreboard in the second inning, and then would add onto his great night by getting two doubles. You could say that Banks provided most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Catcher Andrew Mashall had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had two singles. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a triple.
I know what the end result of this game is. The Quincy Gems defeated the Chillicothe Paints in Game 1, and they take a commanding 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series, putting the pressure onto the Paints, who now have to win the Prospect League championship by going on the road and beating the Gems at QU Stadium. I know this will be hard to do. It's definitely alot to ask for, but throughout this year, this team has been through alot, and this organization has been through so much more these past few years. I believe it wouldn't surprise me if we make this interesting later this week. There's still a chance, folks, and there's every reason to still believe that we can do it. Stay tuned on the radio.
Say what you will about the ninth inning doing the team in, and by all intents and purposes, the error to start the top of the ninth might have done it, but overall, this was a competitive game played by both the Quincy Gems and the Chillicothe Paints. This was definitely how I expected the game to be. I pretty much knew going into this game that Quincy weren't no pushovers to begin with. After all, the Gems are the best team in the Prospect League win-loss record wise, so it's no surprise to see the consistency coming from this team. Even during their brief practice right before this game started, I could tell that they were very much in sync with what they were doing. Simply put, they were focused.
Going into the Prospect League Championship Series, the Paints had to make decisions as to who to give the ball to for this Game 1 start. They chose A.J. Achter to carry the load for this first game. Achter, to his credit, did everything he could to make this start count. I do openly admit that Achter was a bit shaky in the first three innings of this ballgame, as I noticed that he was dancing around the strike zone, but not technically hitting his spots. However, from what I saw from that point on, Achter was pitching brilliantly down the stretch of his start. As he got deeper into his start, the more he just found his rythym, and at the time, this was a huge thing for the Paints.
Achter would pitch an amazing 8 innings deep in his start, and he would give up two earned runs in all on 6 hits allowed and one walk to boot, but he would come back and record 5 strikeouts. Towards the end of his start, Achter was really feeling it. He knew exactly where the strike zone was, and he wasn't holding anything back, mowing down Quincy's offense with surprising ease.
You know, it's amazing just how much I can get my hopes up whenever I go see a playoff game involving the Paints. You always hope that one year will be the year for the Paints, that they'll finally raise a championship flag over V.A. Memorial Stadium, and granted that can still happen if they manage to win both of these road games on Quincy's turf, but as I watch on to see Paints playoff games progress, there's always one thing that will set us back and flatten our tires, so to speak.
Blake Mascarello took the mound for the ninth inning, and at first, he wasn't all that bad. Seriously, he was doing a fine job until that error third baseman Zach Leonard made to open the door for the Gems in the top of the ninth. It was from here that Mascarello started to come undone. He would give up a walk and two hits, and he would give up two more runs to the Gems. The tie was eventually broken by the precision and the execution by the Gems.
For the offense, Ben Allen had an RBI single. Kyle Gendron had a single. Right fielder Eian Banks had such a great game here, and if you just look at the stats, then you'll be convinced that he did a great job. Eian went deep to left center field, blasting a solo homerun shot that hit the V.A.'s scoreboard in the second inning, and then would add onto his great night by getting two doubles. You could say that Banks provided most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Catcher Andrew Mashall had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had two singles. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a triple.
I know what the end result of this game is. The Quincy Gems defeated the Chillicothe Paints in Game 1, and they take a commanding 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series, putting the pressure onto the Paints, who now have to win the Prospect League championship by going on the road and beating the Gems at QU Stadium. I know this will be hard to do. It's definitely alot to ask for, but throughout this year, this team has been through alot, and this organization has been through so much more these past few years. I believe it wouldn't surprise me if we make this interesting later this week. There's still a chance, folks, and there's every reason to still believe that we can do it. Stay tuned on the radio.
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