Paints Light Up REX 12-2 in 2025 Home Debut
Article presented by the Outdoor Drama Tecusmseh! …
The Opening Night fireworks started early as the Chillicothe Paints (2-1) tallied seven runs in their last two at bats to motor past REX Baseball (1-2) Thursday night, 12-2.
Chillicothe took a 3-1 lead into the home fourth and tacked on two more runs to go up 5-1. Terre Haute got a run back in the top of the 7th inning, but the home team crossed the plate four times in the bottom of the frame and three more in the 8th before 4,421 fans at VA Memorial Stadium.
REX pitching did themselves in. Three pitchers combined to allow 14 walks, four of them came in the 1st inning, including the first two batters, Alex Bemis (Gannon Univ.) and Cam Gravell (Univ. Toledo). CJ Richmond (Purdue Univ.) drove in Bemis on a single and Gravelle scored on a fielder’s choice and the Paints had a 2-0 lead.
Michael Patellis (Tiffin Univ.) led off the third with a triple and scored on a sac fly by Lancaster’s CJ Carmichael (Frostburg State). The three runs were all the Paints needed to secure the win.
Meanwhile, Alex Caudill (Lake Erie College) was pitching a gem for Chillicothe. Caudill got the win by striking out five and holding Terre Haute to a single run on one hit over five innings work before giving way to Branin Seibert (Wayland Baptist Univ.). Seibert earned the save by fanning four and limiting the visitors to a run on five hits over three innings.
Bemis added a two-run home run in the 4th for his second knock of the season.
While Chillicothe scored four times in the home 7th, their final at bat was a bit wacky. Gravelle had a lead off walk and safely stole second. He became the first out of the inning getting picked off. After Richmond flied out, Jackson Boles (Cuyahoga CC) drew a walk and safely stole second. Zack Henderson (Indiana State Univ.) walked and Boles advanced to third on a wild pitch. The two caught REX by surprise on a double steal, with Boles scoring and Henderson reaching second. Mitchel Szymczak (Lake Erie College) then walked and Mason McManus (Erskine College) was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, Patellis was hit by a pitch to make it 11-2 and Carmichael followed with another walk to score the final run.
The two clubs will wrap up the set Friday night with Magnetic Schedule Night for the first 500 fans through the gates. Gates open at 6:05pm and the first pitch is at 7:05pm. The Paints hit the road to Johnstown for games Saturday and Sunday, returning home to face the Mill Rats Tuesday at VA Memorial Stadium.
