Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Monday night’s contest against Washington was far from what Chillicothe had hoped for.
The Cavaliers suffered a 10-1 defeat on the road, leaving a bad taste in their mouths. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait long for their chance at redemption.
But less than 24 hours later, Chillicothe found itself trailing, again, throughout the entirety of the game with little success offensively.
All it took to completely flip that script was one productive inning.
That was no more evident than in the seventh when — trailing 3-1 and down to its final out — the Cavaliers pieced together some late-game magic.
A two-run walk-off double off the bat of Trent Wade lifted the Cavaliers to a 4-3 win over Washington, handing the Blue Lions their first loss in FAC play.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“Last night, coach [Tom] Barr’s speech was that we’ve been talking a lot, but we haven’t really backed anything up,” Chillicothe’s Mason Brown said. “The first half of the game, we didn’t do much. In the second half, something just clicked. Defense started clicking, the bats came alive, and we played smart baseball. That’s how we win.”
“It feels great to finally get another league win,” Wade said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit, so it feels good to get back into league play and get a win.”
Brown went to work from the get-go on the mound, striking out the first two Washington hitters and retiring the Blue Lions in order in the top of the first.
Chillicothe tried to return Brown’s favor with its bats, putting runners on second and third with one out, but Washington was able to work out of a jam and leave them stranded.
The Blue Lions got it going offensively in their half of the second, with Evan Lynch ripping one into the gap for a lead-off triple. The hitter, Sam Lotz, singled to bring Lynch home and put Washington out to an early 1-0 lead.
After a shutdown inning from pitcher Bryce Yeazel, Washington took advantage of a couple of Chillicothe fielding errors in the third. With two outs, John Wall reached base on an error and, after Wall moved into scoring position, Lotz came up with his second RBI of the day by reaching on a second fielding error, making it 2-0.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers still struggled to put runners on base — let alone runs on the board.
Washington continued to take advantage of this and in the fifth inning, added another run thanks to Evan Lynch on the base paths.
The senior walked with one out and stole second on the following at-bat. In the process of a Will Miller walk, Lynch then swiped third. Then, while Chillicothe tried to pick off Miller at first, Lynch made a beeline for home plate, sliding in safely and extending the lead to 3-0.
Yeazel then retired the Cavaliers in order, carrying the lead into the sixth.
But even after a dormant offensive day through five innings, something clicked for the Cavaliers in the sixth, and the bats came to life.
Chillicothe loaded the bases with two outs and with one swing of the bat, Dom Barron brought home a runner from third to cut the deficit to 3-1.
That’s the only run the Cavaliers would get, but it was enough to give them all the confidence they’d need going forward.
Vincent Haller took over on the mound in the seventh and retired the side, setting his team up to go back to work with the bats.
“I dug us in a hole with two walks early [in the seventh],” Mason Brown said. “Vincent Haller comes in and goes 1-2-3, knocks them out, and gives us a chance to go out and score.”
The Cavaliers were faced with another two-out battle in the bottom half.
But with its back against the wall, Chillicothe answered.
After Brown was hit by a pitch, Ayden Hutchison and Coen Butler loaded the bases with back-to-back singles. From there, Truitt McGlone drew a walk to bring Brown home, inching the deficit to 3-2.
Then, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Wade stepped to the dish looking to keep the rally — and game — alive.
On a 1-1 offering, Wade swung at a high fastball and sent it into deep left field. No Blue Lion outfielder could get to the ball in time to make a catch, and the ball dropped at the warning track, allowing two runners to score and seal a win for the Cavaliers … the team’s first win over the Blue Lions since 2021.
“I missed the first fastball [of the at-bat], then I saw his curveball and I didn’t want it,” Wade said. “Then he threw that fastball a little bit up, and I took it.”
“Once you get in those positions, you’ve got to want to be up there,” Brown said. “Every single person that went up, whether they walked or got a hit, they went up there with that mindset.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Statistically, Browm worked to a quality start on the mound, going six innings while allowing three runs — two earned — on four hits and four walks. He struck out eight.
Haller was the winning pitcher after his shutdown seventh inning.
Hutchison led Chillicothe offensively, going 2-for-4 with two singles and two stolen bases. McGlone and Barron went 1-for-2 and 1-for-3, espectively, each recording an RBI. Wade’s walk-off put him at 1-for-4 on the day with two RBIs.
Yeazel also had a solid outing on the mound for the Blue Lions, going 6 2/3 innings of work, striking out three and allowing two earned runs on five hits. Offensively, Lynch reached base four times, going 1-for-1 with a triple and two walks alongside three steals. Lotz finished 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
Washington looks to get back on Thursday, traveling to Hillsboro, while Chillicothe hits the road to face Logan on Wednesday. From there, the Cavaliers finish out the week with matchups against Waverly and Hilliard Bradley.
SPONSORED BY HOMELAND CREDIT UNION
