CHILLICOTHE — The hottest team in the Prospect League continued a torrid stretch Sunday evening at VA Memorial stadium.
With a 4-3 win over Normal, the Chillicothe Paints (8-7) nailed down their sixth straight victory, lifting their overall record to above .500 for the first time this season.
The Paints wasted no time in scoring Sunday. Chris Eisel (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) led off the bottom of the first innings with a walk before scoring on a sacrifice fly via Cole Andrews (Miami).
After the Cornbelters (8-10) tied the game in the third, Chillicothe scored twice more in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 3-1 lead, as Eisel scored on an error and Gavin Homer (Penn State) crossed the plate on an RBI double from Collin Luty (Northern Kentucky).
Normal cut the led back to a single run in the seventh and tied the game in the eighth. But in the bottom of the eighth, Joe Laudont (Grand Valley State) tallied the eventual winning run while scoring on Normal’s second error of the night.
Eisel led Chillicothe’s offense, going 2-for-2 with a double and two runs while Luty was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Andrew Bacon (Northern Kentucky) was 2-for-4, Andrews was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Ethan Hajdukovic (Western Michigan) finished 1-for-3 with a double.
On the mound, Mitch Milheim (Ohio State) got the win in relief, throwing 1 2/3 innings while surrendering one earned run on a single hit and striking out four.
The Paints are back in action Tuesday evening at West Virginia’s Linda K. Epling Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
To find news, updates, and more information about the Paints, be sure to visit chillicothepaints.com.