Chillicothe, OH – For the second straight game, the Chillicothe Paints walked-off the Champion City Kings with the winning run scooting home in the ninth.
For the third straight game, the Kings start off with the lead with two in the opening frame. Matt Mercer (Richton, MS; Pearl River CC) grounded out the first run, followed by Patrick Fultz (Springfield, OH; Shawnee H.S.) scoring on a wild pitch. Up 2-1 heading to the fifth inning, Mercer struck again with his second home run to put the Kings up 4-1 halfway home.
Trailing 5-4 in the sixth inning, the Kings plated their last runs of the series with a RBI single from Gus Gregory (Strongsville, OH; Strongsville H.S.) and Jayson Zmejkoski (North Port, FL; Tallahassee CC.) The Paints tied the game up in their seventh, setting up the winning walk-off in the ninth.
Kyler Archual (Columbus, OH; Tiffin Univ.) threw 4.1 innings as the starter, allowing five earned runs off of six hits and one walk, while the right-hander struck out six. Gabe Carter (Huntington, WV; Rio Grande) went 2.1 innings in relief, allowing one run, one hit, four walks, while striking out one. Johnathon Ray (Sylvania, OH; Tiffin) took the loss, going an inning and two-thirds, with one unearned run allowed on two hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
The Kings, now 5-10 in the second half, travel to Lafayette for a Saturday Night battle in the Hoosier State. Champion City returns home on Monday to host the West Virginia Miners. For tickets, PLTV information, the official team podcast, and more, keep it here to championcitykings.com!