The Chillicothe Mudcats took both ends of a pair of seven-inning games yesterday at Branson, beating the Nationals by scores of 11-4 and 8-1 to take a 1/2 game lead over rival St. Joseph in the north division of the MINK League.
Chillicothe, in the first game, took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of first-inning runs, as faulty Branson defense helped Preston Pavlich and Dalton Rook cross the plate. After Branson rallied for a 4-2 lead after three inning, the Mudcats worked to catch, and then pass, the home team. The Mudcats scored single runs in the 4th and 5th innings to tie the contest at 4, then blew Branson out of the water with two runs in the 6th, and a 5 spot in the 7th inning for the win. Pavlich had two hits and two runs scored for Chillicothe. The Mudcats played a very clean game, with 11 base hits and no errors.
In Tuesday’s second game, pitching headlined an 8-1 Mudcat triumph, with Pablo Ortiz rolling through the National lineup, striking out ten batters in earning the victory. Branson’s defense again was leaky, committing four errors, as Chillicothe scored one run in the 1st inning, three more in the 3rd, and put the game out of reach with four tallies in the top of the 6th inning. Branson was held to just three hits over the seven inning contest, and will try to change their luck in Game #3 of the series, set for a 5:00 PM first pitch on Wednesday afternoon in Branson.
Tuesday’s wins have pushed Chillicothe’s MINK League record to 4-1, 1/2 game up on the 4-2 St. Joseph Mustangs. St. Joseph defeated the KC Monarchs on Tuesday night in non-league play, 6-0, while Joplin beat Sedalia by a score of 6-5.
Three games, all MINK League contests, are on Wednesday night’s docket. In addition to the Chillicothe at Branson game, St. Joseph travels to Clarinda to play the A’s in a North Division showdown at 5:00 PM, while in the MINK League South, Joplin hosts Nevada.
