SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Champion City Kings (4-4, 11-26) finished the two-game series against the Johnstown Mill Rats (2-4, 15-20) on Monday (July 8) night at Carleton Davidson Stadium.
Johnstown led 5-0 early on but the Kings rallied for a 9-8 win over the Mill Rats, moving their win streak to three games in a row.
Four Mill Rats scored in the first inning and another crossed the plate in the second frame, chasing Kings starter Riley Niggemeyer (South Vienna, Ohio / Schoolcraft) from the game.
Trailing 5-0 in the second inning, the Kings began their attempt at taking back the lead in the bottom of the second. Kolten Poorman (Bonne Terre, Missouri / Eastern Illinois) doubled to center field and came home on a RBI single by Drew Gaskins (Sunbury, Ohio / Oakland).
One inning later, Justin Maurer (Springfield, Ohio / Bluffton) lined a two-run double to left field, scoring Alex Jones (Amherst, Ohio / Notre Dame College) who singled and Nick Weyrich (London, Ohio / Marshall) who doubled earlier in the inning.
With the game at 5-3, both teams brought runs home in the fourth inning as the score turned to 6-4. Champion City took advantage of a few Mill Rats errors. Quintin Reep (Bridgeport, West Virginia / Fairmont State) walked after Gaskins reached on a dropped ball from a groundout. Johnny Costella (Cleveland, Ohio / Notre Dame College) singled home Gaskins.
Two walks in the fifth inning allowed Champion City to score a run when Reep singled home the fifth run for the Kings, trailing 6-5.
A three-run sixth inning from the Kings fully erased the deficit from Johnstown. Jones led off with a single while Maurer reached on an error by the third baseman. Poorman doubled home Jones, tying the game at six. Maurer took the lead on a wild pitch with Louis Florida (Wilmette, Illinois / DePauw) adding a sacrifice fly. After the inning ended, Champion City led 8-6.
An important insurance run for Champion City happened in the seventh inning. Weyrich doubled for the second time in the game, driving home Jones for his third run of the contest.
Johnstown scored two runs in the ninth inning but the Kings escaped with a 9-8 win.
Reep, Jones, Weyrich and Poorman all had two hits, including two double contests from Weyrich and Poorman. Jones became the fifth player to score three runs in a game. Champion City totaled 12 hits in the game, reaching that number for the third time – one shy of the season-high.
Niggemeyer allowed five runs in one and one third innings, taking a no-decision. Charlie Schafer (Beavercreek, Ohio / Wittenberg) went four and two thirds innings of relief work with one run allowed during his 2024 debut. He struck out five batters as he improved to 1-0. Josh Heitert (Avon, Indiana / DePauw) made a debut with two runs given up in one inning. Luke Swanger (Lebanon, Ohio / Cedarville) and Tristan Harley (Tallahassee, Florida / Embry-Riddle) each threw a scoreless inning as Harley picked up the save.
The homestand concludes on Tuesday (July 9) with a Chillicothe Paints rematch at 6:35 PM. It is $2 Tuesday at Carleton Davidson Stadium.