Ethan S. Smith – 07/13/24
The Johnstown Mill Rats swept Rex Baseball in a double-header at Sargent’s Stadium at the
Point on Saturday, winning game one 6-1 and game two 6-4, securing two massive wins before
their upcoming road trip.
Johnstown starting pitcher Graeme Rios was the story in the first game, tossing seven innings
versus Rex while allowing just one unearned run and striking out five. The performance pushed
Rios forward in style, dropping his ERA to 3.82 during the 2024 Prospect League season.
Third baseman Landon Meyer helped lead the Mill Rats offense to six runs in the first game,
collecting two-RBIs from a sacrifice fly and single, finishing the game 1-for-3.
Four of the six runs for Johnstown were scored in the fifth inning of the first game, as right-
fielder Max Humphrey, shortstop Dom Krupinski, center fielder Carter Rust and Meyer all came
across to score in the inning off of Rex starter Jake Porter, who allowed five earned runs on six
Mill Rats hits.
The fifth inning was big for the Mill Rats once again in game two, as the Mill Rats pushed across
five runs in the fifth to take a five-run lead. Rex starter Zacheus Carr did not have a great outing,
allowing six earned runs across 4.2 IP in game two.
Johnstown brought every hitter in their starting lineup to the plate in the fifth inning versus Carr,
with second baseman Logan Myers and Rust collecting two-RBI hits to spearhead the massive
inning for the Mill Rats.
Mill Rats starting pitcher Tyler Elliott followed a great performance from Rios, tossing 3.1 innings
while striking out five Rex hitters and allowing just one unearned run. The duo of Rios and Elliott
managed 10.1 innings pitched without allowing an earned run for Johnstown.
Johnstown relievers Liam Royster, Conor Thiele, Mac Yarbrough and Matt Benton combined to
finish the remaining 3.2 innings, securing the victory for the Mill Rats in game two.
The sweep pushed Johnstown to 5-6 in the Prospect League second half, a needed step
forward after the series loss to the Chillicothe Paints. Rex Baseball fell to 7-3 in the second half,
snapping a five-game winning streak.
Johnstown heads on the road to face the Danville Dans, Normal CornBelters, REX Baseball and
the Chillicothe Paints before returning home to begin their final homestand of the 2024 Prospect
League season on Tuesday, July 23 versus the Champion City Kings.