Paints Walk Off On Kings For Second Straight Night

(Photo by Cory Hall)

Recap courtesy of the Chillicothe Paints:

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The Chillicothe Paints, presented by Adena Health System, got a walk off double for a second night in a row against the Champion City Kings, taking a 7-6 win Friday night at VA Memorial Stadium.

Champion City (5-10, 14-30) got on the board in the top of the first with a leadoff double by Jayson Zmejkoski, followed by a single by Patrick Fultz and a groundout by Matt Mercer that scored Zmejkoski, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead. Fultz scored on a wild pitch with two outs, making it 2-0.

Pitching took over the game from the first inning to the fourth with neither team getting more than one hit in an innning. In the bottom of the fourth, Tim Orr put Chillicothe on the board with a solo home run over the right-centerfield wall, cutting Champion City's lead in half at 2-1.

The Kings would retaliate in the top of the fifth with a homerun of their own, this time a two-run shot by Mercer that extended their lead to 4-1.

The Paints (8-7, 29-17) loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning on two singles and a walk. Gianni Passarelli chipped away at the lead, slashing an RBI single into left, making the score 4-2. Brett Carson stepped up to the plate with one out and the bases still loaded and drove a single to right-field, scoring Anthony Steele and Jake Reifsnyder, tying the game at 4-4. Following a walk drawn by Kade Wroot, Orr grounded out to second, allowing Passerelli to score, giving Chillicothe its first lead of the game at 5-4.

Nick Lallathin replaced Chillicothe starter Gunnar Boehm in the top of the sixth, Boehm posted a line of five innings pitched, four earned runs, and one strikeout. After giving up a double and retiring two batters, Lallathin gave up a single to Gus Gregory that tied the game up at 5-5. This was followed by another RBI single, this time off the bat of Zmejkoski, giving Champion City a 6-5 lead. 

In the bottom of the seventh with two runners in scoring position, Tim Orr lined out to second base, the throw back to second looking to double-off Kade Wroot went wide and into left field, allowing Carson to score, tying the game at six with two outs. Champion City was able to get out of the jam, as Evan Lorey threw Cameron Bowen out at home from right field to end the inning after a Hunter Klotz single.

Evan Wolf entered from the bullpen in the top of the ninth to relieve Lallathin after three innings, two earned runs, and three punchouts. Wolf struck out two and worked around an error, preserving the tie game.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Wroot reached base on an error by Zmejkoski at shortstop. Orr would then step to the plate and hit a double to the right-center wall, scoring Wroot from first to walk it off for Chillicothe.

The Paints are back in action Saturday night at VA Memorial Stadium where they will face off against the Johnstown Mill Rats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. The first 500 fans 21 and over receive a Michelob Ultra keychain and it's Party With The Paints by Budweiser, featuring the band Acoustic Poppycock playing live on the deck after the game.