Chillicothe Rallies Late For Third Prospect League Championship

(Photo by Cory Hall)

Recap courtesy of the Chillicothe Paints:

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The Chillicothe Paints, presented by Adena Health System, overcame a 4-0 deficit Sunday night, scoring 14 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win the 2022 Prospect League Championship in front of nearly 1,600 fans at VA Memorial Stadium.

Alton starter Alex Redman shut down the Paints for the first six innings, allowing no runs on just three hits, walking one and striking out three. Meanwhile, the River Dragons built a 4-0 lead.

With two runners on and two outs in the top of the fourth, Marcus Heusohn hit a slow bouncer to second base, forcing a hurried throw to go wide of first, allowing the first two runs to score and giving Alton a 2-0 lead.

They made it 3-0 in the fifth on Ethan Kleinheider's RBI fielder's choice. 

Cameron Hailstone singled to left in the top of the sixth, scoring Gunnar Doyle, making it 4-0 River Dragons.

Alton went to the bullpen in the seventh and the Chillicothe bats came to life. Nate Dorinsky turned the first pitch of the inning into a hard-hit single. Mike Sprockett and Jake Reifsnyder walked, loading the bases with no outs. Gianni Passarelli finally put the Paints on the board with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Brett Carson followed with an RBI single, scoring Sprockett. A wild pitch brought home Reifsnyder, cutting it to a one run ballgame. Santrel Farmer singled, scoring Reifsnyder to tie the game at 4-4. After Farmer stole second, Tim Orr followed with an RBI double, scoring Carson and putting the Paints in front for the first time at 5-4. After a flyout for the first out of the inning, Tommy Thamann was intentially walked, re-loading the bases. Dorinsky, batting for the second time in the inning, sent a ball to left field for a sacrifice fly, scoing Farmer and extending the lead to 6-4.

In the top of the eighth inning, with two outs, Heusohn sent a high fly ball to deep right-center, Farmer and Kade Wroot collided, sending Farmer spinning to the ground with most people in the ballpark unsure if it was a catch. After a few moments, Famer reached into the air while laying on his back, clutching the baseball, bring the Paints fans to their feet and sending the game to the bottom of the eighth.

Passarelli got the inning started with a double, then Farmer and Orr both walked with one out, loading the bases for Chillicothe. Wroot worked an RBI walk, making it 7-4. Thamann followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the Paints an 8-4 lead. Dorinsky followed with a two-run single, putting the Paints in front 10-4. Sprockett hit a fly ball to left that was dropped by an Alton player, allowing Dorinsky to score and make it 11-4. Reifsnyder was hit by a pitch and Passarelli walked to load the bases with two outs. Carson sent a ball to deep left-center, clearing the bases and earning the 14-4 walk-off win for the Paints (there is a 10-run mercy rule after seven innings in the Prospect League), securing the club's second championship in three seasons and their third all-time. 

Paints starter Nick Lallathin got a no-decision for hit efforts, allowing four runs, only one earned, on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He didn't walk anyone and struck out seven. Isaac Danford collected the win in relief, not allowing a run or a hit and striking out 1 over the final 2 1/3 innings.

Passarelli went 3-4 on the night, driving in one and scoring three times. Carson finished the game 2-6 with 4 RBIs, Dorinsky went 2-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Farmer and Orr each had two hits and an RBI. Thamann also picked up an RBI in the game.

Including the a 4-1 postseason run, Chillicothe finishes the season 42-23. In addition to the Prospect League title, they won the Ohio River Valley Division and the Eastern Conference Championship. 

Alton finishes the season 35-20, having won the Prairie Land Division and the Western Conference Championship.