Paints defeat Kings for Ohio River Valley Division Championship

The Basics
Score: Chillicothe Paints 7, Champion City Kings 6
Records: Chillicothe Paints (42-17, 1-0), Champion City Kings (29-30, 0-1)
Location: VA Memorial Stadium - Chillicothe, Ohio

CHILLICOTHE, OH  – The Chillicothe Paints are headed to the Eastern Conference Championship game with a 7-6 victory over the Champion City Kings Sunday at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.

The Ohio River Valley Division Champion Chillicothe Paints will host the winner of the Wabash River Division Championship between the Danville Dans and the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in the Eastern Conference Championship on Tuesday. 

After a scoreless 1st inning, the Kings scored first with a 2-run top of the 2nd as Hilario DeLaPaz III singled home David Novak and Evan Lorey followed with a single to score Brayden Quince.

The Paints found an answer right away putting up a 4-spot in the bottom of the 2nd scoring on an RBI single by Cameron Bowen, a wild pitch from Kings' starter Gabe Phipps, and a 2-RBI single by Tim Orr. 

The game settled with the 4-2 Paints lead for the next two innings before the Kings broke it open again in the 5th.

A 3-run top of the 5th inning by the Kings gave them their second lead of the game. Ben Bach started it with an RBI single and DeLaPaz III followed with his second and third RBIs of the night grabbing a double down the line to give the Kings a 5-4 lead.

The Paints answered again in the bottom of the inning. Prospect League batting average leader Victor Figueroa put the Paints back ahead with a 2-run home run making it a 6-5 score heading to the 6th.

The two teams remained just one run apart until the Paints extended their lead with a balk by Kings' reliever Kyle Kesel in the 8th. The Kings would mount a comeback in their final effort as Novak homered in the top of the 9th to bring it back to a 1-run game, but the Kings would just fall short as the Paints picked up the 7-6 victory. 

Turning Point
Victor Figueora's 2-run home run gave the Paints their 2nd and final lead of the game as the Paints answered both crooked numbers by the Kings. The 2-run shot was just enough the keep the game out of the reach of the Kings and finish off the 1-run victory for the Paints. 

Inside The Box Score

• Colin Bryant picked up his 4th win of the season going 3.2 innings in relief for the Paints giving up just 1 run and striking out 4.

• The Kings' go-to-starter Gabe Phiipps went all 95 on the mound, giving up 6 runs and only striking out 2 taking his 3rd loss of the season.

• The Kings batted just .267 with runners in scoring position leaving 10 runners on base and recording zero 2-out hits.

• The two teams combined for just 1 error in the game as all but 1 of the runs in the game were earned.

Notes

• This is the Paints' 6th Division Championship and their second straight year winning the Ohio River Valley Division Championship.

• The Paints continue their quest for back-to-back Prospect League Championships and a Prospect League record 4th title and 6th championship appearance. 

• The Kings are now 1-1 in the first round of the playoffs but have now made the playoffs in 2 of the last 3 seasons after not reaching the postseason in their first 6 years in the Prospect League. 

Up Next
Chillicothe advances to Tuesday's Conference Championship round and will face the winner of tonight's Wabash River Division Championship between Danville and Springfield. Game time Tuesday is TBD but will be hosted by Paints at VA Memorial Stadium.