Chillicothe Paints Set To Open 2021 Season

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After being idle in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chillicothe Paints open the 2021 Prospect League season at Home May 27th at V.A. Memorial Stadium against the Lafayette Aviators. Game time is 7:05pm Thursday, but the stadium is open for fans at 6:05pm.

The Paints are the defending Prospect League Champs, dating back to 2019, and will be led by new field manager John Penn for the Paints.

“I’m just very thankful and humbled for the doors that have opened up for me to be able to take this role,” Penn said. “I’m looking forward to a great season. The Paints are a team with high standards and, technically speaking, are the defending champs. It should be exciting. I know Brian [Mannino] is doing a fantastic job of getting the right guys for us to make a run at another title.”

Penn is recently served as an assistant coach at Bryant & Stratton Community College in Virginia Beach, Va..

Prior to joining the staff at Bryan & Stratton, Penn spent two seasons with NCAA DI Old Dominion working with catchers and hitters. The Monarchs reached the CUSA tournament and their catcher was selected in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft by the Chicago Cubs. 

Before his time at Old Dominion, Penn spent two seasons with Iowa Western Community College, working with catchers and hitters and assisting in recruiting. During Penn’s two seasons at IWCC, the Reivers earned a spot in the JUCO World Series in 2018 and produced 20 NCAA DI signees, nine DII signees and three MLB draft picks.

Penn spent his first two seasons in coaching at NCAA DIII Bluffton University, serving as a graduate assistant.

A 2010 graduate of Zane Trace High School, Penn graduated from Wabash College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Rhetoric, later obtaining his Master’s in Business Administration with a Sports Management concentration from Bluffton University. At Wabash, Penn was a relief pitcher and a member of the 2011 team that won the North Coast Athletic Conference at VA Memorial Stadium.

He takes over the club following the resignation of Brian Bigam.

Most teams have players with 5-10 temporary contracts, since the NCAA Division 1 Baseball season is running one week longer than usual. The Prospect League is comprised of mostly college age baseball players.

There are 16 teams in the Prospect League for the 2021 season with the Paints positioned in the East Ohio River Valley Division, along with the Johnstown Mill Rats, West Virginia Miners, and Champion City Kings.

“Litter Media’s Facebook Live With Dan & Mike” will do their Thursday, May 27th show live from V.A. Memorial Stadium, starting between 4pm-4:30pm.

See the 2021 Paints schedule below.