Chillicothe shortstop Cameron Bowen was a triple shy of the cycle, helping lead the Paints to a
7-3 victory over the Johnstown Mill Rats at Sargent’s Stadium at The Point on Friday.
Bowen kicked off the scoring for the Paints in the second inning with a solo home run, followed
by RBI-singles from first baseman Clay Burdette and left fielder Alex Monile. Both Burdette and
Monile had two hits a piece.
The Paints followed up a strong second inning with an equally as impressive third inning,
scoring three more runs courtesy of RBI-doubles from Bowen and second baseman Ken
Hemmer off of Johnstown starter Scott Templeton, who allowed five earned runs and seven hits
in just 2.1 innings pitched.
Johnstown finally got on the board in the fourth, breaking up a no-hit performance from
Chillicothe starter Jack Rollo, who pitched seven innings while allowing just two earned runs.
Center fielder Carter Rust got the scoring going for Johnstown, while first baseman Jack
Newman drove in shortstop Dom Krupinski and Rust to bring the Mill Rats within three runs.
“We talked in the dugout, when you fall behind, we need zeros and we need to chip away.” said
manager Josh Merill, who understood his team managed half the battle in a comeback effort.
“We did half of that, we didn’t on the other half. Credit to the pitchers that came in that kept the
game within reach.”
The game maintained a steady pace after the fourth inning, as Johnstown relievers Will Juday
and Jonah Richardson pitched five scoreless innings combined while allowing just three hits.
“They did a great job.” said Merill, who had special praise for Richardson, who at 17, has yet to
play baseball at the collegiate level.
“Really good stuff from [Richardson]. He’s a young buck and hasn’t even stepped on a college
field yet. So, really good to see from him.”
Chillicothe would extend their lead to four in the ninth as center fielder Eric Colaco sent a ball
into the night sky over the screen monster in left field. Colaco, who was 1-for-5, improved his
batting average to an impressive .402 mark.
The win was the second consecutive for Chillicothe over Johnstown, moving the Paints to 7-3 in
the 2024 Prospect League second half, a resounding encore to their first half division title.
Johnstown fell to 3-6, losing six of their past seven games overall. The Mill Rats play the final
two games of their homestand on Saturday in a double-header versus REX Baseball.
They’ll head on the road to follow for a seven-game road trip, beginning with the Danville Dans
on Tuesday.