Ethan S. Smith – 07/04/2024
Designated hitter Joey Perry saw two bases loaded opportunities on Independence Day at
Sargent’s Stadium at The Point, and although neither resulted in a base hit, he collected two
crucial RBIs that helped lead the Johnstown Mill Rats 5-2 over the Champion City Kings on
Thursday night.
“I went out there trying to be confident.” said Perry, who collected a walk on top of his two runs
batted in on Thursday. “I did my job to get a run across whenever I could, so it worked out.”
Center fielder Carter Rust, second baseman Logan Myers and catcher Logan Murphy also
added RBIs on a night where the Mill Rats offense collected six hits.
“It’s good that we’ve gotten a little momentum.” said Perry. “I think it’s important for us to stay
loose and continue to have fun.”
Johnstown starting pitcher George Henkel had an impressive outing, allowing just two earned
runs in a short four inning outing. With the performance, Henkel improved his ERA to a solid
2.57 clip.
Relief pitcher Will Juday had a phenomenal evening following Henkel, striking out two
Champion City hitters across four scoreless innings of work.
The Kings did collect seven hits on the evening, but the Johnstown pitching did a solid job
preventing extra-base hits, allowing only two from Champion City designated hitter James
Salvatori and third baseman Ben Bach.
Johnstown improved to 2-0 in the second half of the 2024 Prospect League season with the
victory, having about as perfect a start manager Josh Merrill could have asked for ahead of the
Mill Rats upcoming road trip.
“We feel really good.” said Merill, who preached consistency for the Mill Rats in the second half.
“We want to put ourselves in a position to win games. Going into the road trip, we have to be
consistent. We have to take care of our job on the road.”
The Mill Rats head on the road for four games, playing the Lafayette Aviators and Champion
City Kings before returning Wednesday, July 10 to face off with the Northeast Division first half
champion Chillicothe Paints.