Chillicothe, OH – A pair of new faces, along with receiving fourteen walks and cranking out sixteen hits, helped guide Champion City to a 16-9 win at Chillicothe on Thursday Night. This was the first game the Kings played in since Monday’s home win against West Virginia. Jack Vogele (Loveland, OH; Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy H.S.) and Blake Werry (Beavercreek, OH; Beavercreek H.S.) made their debuts for the Kings, both contributing in relief appearances.
A familiar name made the start in Connor Lockwood (Libertyville, IL; Valparaiso.) With the Paints taking a 1-0 lead off the Kings’ starter, Champion City got three runs in the second. A RBI Single by Trey Carter (Wheelersburg, OH; Rio Grande) tied the game up, followed by an Alex Scoular (Whitby, Ontario, Canada; Rio Grande) and Jayson Zmejkoski (North Port, FL; Tallahassee CC) RBI single to draw ahead. While this lead held for a few innings, Chillicothe led 6-3 after five complete in Southern Ohio.
From that point on, the Kings outscored the Paints 13-3 in the last four innings. Another RBI single by Zmejkoski in the sixth started the rally. Then, Jack Vogele pitch-hit and drew a bases-loaded walk for his first RBI in his first appearance. Jonah Sutton (Collierville, TN; Memphis) also drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game up, with two separate wild pitches gave the Kings an 8-6 lead. The Paints would tie it up in their share of the sixth inning, but Champion City was far from done.
Patrick Fultz (Springfield, OH; Shawnee H.S.) doubled home Gus Gregory (Strongsville, OH; Strongsville H.S.), with the pair of future Wright State Raiders giving the Kings another lead. Matt Mercer (Richton, MS; Pearl River CC) homered for the fourth time to put the Kings up for good at 11-8. Trey Carter would later draw a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead, followed with a 2-RBI Double by Alex Scoular. In the eighth, Evan Lorey (Howell, MI; Spring Arbor Univ.) singled in the 15th run, capped off with a ninth inning fielder’s choice by Jayson Zmejkoski to end the score at 16-9.
Gabe Phipps (Yorktown, IN; Lake Land College) took over for Connor Lockwood in the fifth inning, and threw nearly three innings of solid relief, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk. Blake Werry pitched the last two innings, allowing just two walks and striking out two others. Phipps picked up his second win of 2022.
Alex Scoular picked up three RBI in the victory, along with two each from Matt Mercer, Jayson Zmejkoski, and Trey Carter. Both Zmejkoski and Mercer batted seven times in the contest. Gus Gregory and Alex Scoular each picked up three hits, making the eighth and ninth spot in the order a combined 6-of-9 with three RBI, four runs, and three walks.
The Kings will now return home for a long homestand, sitting two games back of the Johnstown Mill Rats for the second half title. The Terre Haute Rex are in town for the last Fireworks show of the season. For tickets, PLTV infomation, the podcast, and more, keep it here to championcitykings.com!