Jun. 26—The Johnstown Mill Rats’ nine-run sixth inning seemed to be just what the Prospect League team needed to halt a slump on Friday night.
Johnstown designated hitter Ben Newbert capped the big rally with a go-ahead, three-run homer against the Chillicothe Paints, a East-Ohio River Valley Division team streaking in the opposite direction.
But the Mill Rats didn’t build on the momentum in front of a small, but enthusiastic crowd at Sargent’s Stadium at the Point. Instead, Chillicothe tallied three runs in the seventh to retake the lead and six in the eighth to pull away in a 16-9 victory over Johnstown.
The Paints collected 19 hits and 11 walks against four Johnstown hurlers to win their sixth consecutive game and move over the .500 mark at 13-12.
The Mill Rats dropped their fourth straight game and are 6-19. Johnstown lost for the 10th time in 11 contests despite Newbert’s three-hit game with two runs and three RBIs.
Chillicothe built a 7-0 lead only to fall behind after Johnstown scored nine times in the bottom of the sixth to lead 9-7.
The visitors closed strong and swept two games at the Point.
Chillicothe’s Jimmy Allen and Alex Ludwick each produced four hits, with Allen driving in two and scoring two, while Ludwick had three runs and drove in a pair.
Six Paints players had multi-hit games on Friday.
The Paints tallied single runs in each of the first three innings.
Jimmy Allen doubled to right field and scored on Nathan Rose’s single in the top of the first. Jackson Feltner singled and scored after back-to-back base hits by Allen and Colin Summerhill in the second.
The red-hot Ludwick doubled home a run in the third.
The Mill Rats squandered a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third.
Dylan Swarmer had a one-out walk, and No. 9 hitter Cameron Walker doubled for Johnstown’s first hit of the game.
Julian Bury walked to load the bases, but Paints pitcher Zach Kendall induced an inning-ending, 6-4-3 doubleplay.
Trey Smith launched a solo home run over the brick wall in left-center field to open the Paints’ fifth. Isaac Bair and Ludwick hit back-to-back doubles to give Chillicothe another run. Ben Gbur blasted a two-run homer onto Johns Street behind the Screen Monster to push the margin to 7-0.
The Mill Rats got on the board in the sixth as Damian Yenzi, Newbert and Tyler Dellerman each singled and Nick Hess hit a sacrifice fly to plate the home team’s first run. Andre Good hit a two-out, two-strike pitch up the middle to score Newbury and chase Kendall.
Reliever Tyler Ronevich hit the first batter he faced and walked the next two to force in two more Mill Rats runs.
A two-out error allowed two unearned runs and pulled the Mill Rats within a run. Then, Newbert cleared the screen in left field with authority, a three-run homer that gave Johnstown a 9-7 lead through six innings.
That lead didn’t last long as Chillicothe scored three times in the top of the seventh. Jackson Feltner had a sacrifice fly and Allen and Summerhill had two-out, run-scoring singles.
The Paints got a two-out, two-run single by Jimmy Allen, followed by a two-run double by Trey Smith and two more runs on a throwing error to lead 16-9 in the eighth.
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.