Ethan Smith – 07/10/24
The Johnstown Mill Rats brought 17 hitters to the plate in an 11 run fifth inning, helping lead to a
17-0 mercy rule victory over the Chillicothe Paints on Wednesday night at Sargent’s Stadium at
The Point.
“It feels good.” said Mill Rats manager Josh Merrill. “Those 17 runs don’t come with us in the
next game. We understand that we played really well tonight, you love to mercy rule teams, but
we can’t come back and be lackadaisical, we have to come back with good focus and
preparation.”
Johnstown third baseman Dom Krupinski and designated hitter Peyton Starr contributed to the
offensive onslaught, combining for four hits and seven RBIs. Krupinski, who entered the game
leading the Mill Rats in batting average, improved his average to an impressive .379 mark.
A good portion of the offense got started with the efforts of right fielder Max Humphrey, who
reached base in the first, third and fifth innings and scored every time he got on base.
Humphrey finished his evening with four runs scored, a single, a double and two walks.
“We stayed simple at the plate.” said Humphrey, who improved his batting average to .310 after
Wednesday’s win. “We had quality, team at-bats. Barrels are contagious, and it was really good
for our team to see that.”
Johnstown’s offense was the center of attention on Wednesday, but starting pitcher Ian Korn
was impressive once again for the Mill Rats as well, tossing five shutout innings while striking
out six Chillicothe hitters and allowing just two hits, improving his ERA on the season to an
impressive 1.40 mark. Left-hander Mac Yarbrough entered in relief of Korn in the sixth, tossing
a scoreless frame while striking out two, while
Chillicothe had to utilize six different pitchers, including starting pitcher Cameron Bowen, who
allowed three earned runs on six Johnstown hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Johnstown, who entered the game following a four-game road trip that saw the Mill Rats come
back home without a victory, improved their home record to 12-7 at home, a much better mark
than their 4-13 road record on the season.
“A lot of it has to do with playing with pride for Johnstown.” said Merrill. “We talk about it a ton,
people come out, the same faces are here to support us at every home game. Our guys don’t
want to let them down.”
The Mill Rats victory also ensured a third consecutive home victory in the second half of the
2024 Prospect League season, moving their second half record to 3-4, with all their wins coming
at home and all of their losses coming on the road. Chillicothe, who won the Northeast division
first half, dropped to 5-3.
Johnstown and Chillicothe meet for the second game of a three game series on Thursday at
7pm for Hometown Heroes Night and Thirsty Thursday.