Roundup: Paints win Prospect League championship after late-game offensive explosion

Jack Gleckler, Chillicothe Gazette
·2 min read
Paints
Paints

CHILLICOTHE − For the second time in three years, the Chillicothe Paints are Prospect League Champions.

After a back-and-forth championship series against the Alton River Dragons, the Paints exploded late in game three of the series to claim a 14-4 win at VA Memorial Stadium on Sunday night.

For the first six innings, the Paints' prospects were grim. They'd been shutout entirely by River Dragons pitcher Alex Redman, who allowed just three hits in his six innings on the mound. The Paints went down in order in three of those innings. Redman was cooking them, and the River Dragons had tacked on four runs

But, after the sixth inning, the Paints got their relief. Redman was taken out of the game. The Paints broke free of the shutout and got down to business. Their rally began when Gianni Passarelli singled to center field to score Nate Dorinsky and get their first run of the night on the board.

The Paints never let up. They scored another five runs before the seventh inning was over, and the River Dragons had to send out three pitchers to try and stop the tide of runs. But the Paints took the lead in the blink of an eye, and they weren't stopping there. They added another eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, capped off by a double by Brett Carson that brought in the final three runs of the game.

The Paints didn't even need the ninth inning to put the game on ice. The game was run-ruled after the eighth inning. In just two innings, the Paints turned a probable let-down loss into their second Prospect League Championship in three seasons.

Passarelli led the offense Sunday after going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Carson led the Paints in RBI on Sunday, after bringing in four runs on his two hits. All but three Paints batters recorded a hit on Sunday.

The Paints also didn't have to worry about their pitching staff like the River Dragons did. Nick Lallathin did most of the heavy lifting after spending five and two-thirds innings on the mound. The leftie struck out seven batters while allowing four runs and six hits before he was relieved in the sixth inning. Isaac Danford closed out the game and didn't allow the River Dragons to record another hit.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe Paints win Prospect League championship after late rally