Mudcats drop topsy-turvy season opener against Clarinda

The visiting Clarinda A’s scored a run in the top of the 10th inning against Chillicothe reliever Dan Naif, then held on in the bottom half for a 6-5 victory over the Mudcats at Shaffer Park on Friday night.

Chillicothe, playing its season opener, opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the 1st, with starting pitcher Tyler Hansen making that lead hold up until Clarinda took the lead with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth.  Hansen went the first five innings, giving up three hits and three runs in the no-decision.  The A’s added two more runs in the 6th, boosting the lead to 5-1.

The ‘Cats rallied to tie the game at 5 with a single run in the home 6th, followed by a three-run outburst in the 7th.  The majority of damage done by the Chillicothe bats came from the top of the order, as lead-off hitter Ramger Iglesias was 1-for-4  with a walk and two runs scored, Christian Heplock 1-for-3 with two walks and a run scored, Anthony Lantigua 2-for-5 with two runs scored, and Justin Blasinki 2-for-5 with an RBI.  First baseman Chris Peres had two hits in four at-bats, including a double.

Chillicothe will play two games this weekend (one on Saturday night, one on Sunday night) on the road against the MINK League’s newest team, the Jefferson City Renegades.  First pitch will be 7 PM Saturday and 6 PM Sunday.