SPRINGFIELD, OH – Coming back home from a tough 5-2 loss, the Kings couldn’t slow down the Chillicothe Paints’ bats in a 12-2 loss. Champion City was held to two runs scored for the third time this season.
Luke Myers (Springfield, OH; Indiana Tech University) got the start, representing his hometown. The right-hander and Shawnee High School grad had a great first two innings, keeping the Paints quiet with just one hit, one walk, and one hit-batsman. With no score after two complete, the Paints would score at least one run each inning to close out a warm, sunny Friday evening. Myers would finish his night after the third, allowing five earned runs, five hits, one walk, two hit batters to suffer the loss.
The Kings called on three more pitchers, starting off with fellow Springfieldian Andrew DeWitt (Clark State College.) The right-hander gave up two runs in the fourth inning, with two walks and two hits allowed in the Catholic Central grad’s debut. Second-year King Johnathan Ray (Sylvania, OH; Tiffin University) threw two innings, allowing four runs (two earned) with three walks and four hits allowed, striking out one. Colin Ames (South Lebanon, OH; Gulf Coast State College) pitched the seventh inning, with one more run coming home on one hit, one walk, and one strikeout.
Calin Smith (Peachtree City, GA; Marshall University) shined in his debut offensively for Champion City. In the third inning, Smith doubled in the first Kings run to score Jake Sherman (Newark, OH; West Liberty University.) Two innings later, Smith came through in his third at-bat with a Sacrifice Fly RBI, scoring the last run and Hilario DeLaPaz III (Kalamazoo, MI; Tiffin University.) Smith went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI in his first game in Springfield.
The Kings fall to 1-2 on the season with a Saturday Night showdown upcoming against the Chillicothe Paints for the third straight time. For tickets and PLTV links, keep it here to championcitykings.com!