The Chillicothe Mudcats 2023 baseball season is underway, with the “Fish” dropping a 6-3 opening night decision at the Carroll Merchants on Tuesday night. In that contest, Justice Ramirez had a starring role for Chillicothe, throwing five perfect innings to start the game. However, Ryan Knipfer struggled in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing four runs and suffering the loss.
Offensively, Luca Boscarino had a two-run homer for the Mudcats. Noah Hata had three stolen bases and a pair of base hits.
Chillicothe traveled to Sedalia on Thursday night and failed to dent the win column, falling to the Bombers 4-3. The majority of the offense came early, with the Mudcats taking a first inning advantage on an RBI double by Tanner Sears. Sedalia took a 2-1 lead after one inning, only to see Chillicothe score twice in the second, on a solo homer by Jackson Lindquist and a wild pitch that scored Peyton Becker.
Sedalia tied the game in the 8th inning on an RBI single by Jack Prewett, and won the contest in the home ninth on a game-winning hit from Zach Dillman.
In a Friday night home opening doubleheader against Jefferson City, the Mudcats won a thriller in the opener 9-8, with the roller coaster contest ended in the 7th inning on a three-run Chillicothe rally bookended by a Sears RBI single.
The nightcap was not as kind to the ‘Cats, as Jefferson City took a 5-3 victory. Following a Saturday scheduled off-day, the Mudcats game at Clarinda slated for Sunday night was rained out, as the Mudcats return home for a 7:05 game on Monday night (tonight) against Clarinda at Shaffer Park/Haney Field in Chillicothe.
