The Chillicothe Mudcats lost more ground to MINK League North Division leader Clarinda, IA on Wednesday night with a 7-6 loss to the St. Joseph Mustangs at Shaffer Park in Chillicothe.
St. Joseph jumped on the Mudcats early and held a 5-0 lead after just an inning and a half of play. Chillicothe was able to claw its way back into the game with four runs to cut the St. Joseph advantage to a single run by the end of the fourth inning. The Mustangs again pushed their lead, plating two more runs to take a 7-4 lead that would hold until the bottom of the ninth. The Mudcats once again began to rally, but the comeback was stopped one run shy of tying the game yet again, giving the St. Joseph squad the MINK League victory.
Both Chillicothe rallies saw the tying run stranded on third base, first in the fourth inning and then again in the ninth.
Trevor Jones led the Mudcats offense with four hits on the night, his fourth leading off the ninth inning. Chillicothe would cut the lead to one and load the bases with nobody out. St. Joseph reliever Jarrod Miller, who yielded two runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning alone, suddenly found his groove, striking out the next two Chillicothe batters before inducing a game-winning ground out to third base.
Chillicothe now sits at 20-17 overall on the season and 15-17 in MINK League play. Clarinda is 20-11 in the league and St. Joseph sits in second at 18-15.
The Mudcats and Mustangs square off again tonight, this time at Phil Welch Stadium in St. Joseph. The first pitch is set for 7 o’clock.
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