Paints Beat Aviators 12-0 In Seven Innings

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The Chillicothe Paints, presented by CohenOrthopedic, completed a two-game sweep of the Lafayette Aviators with a 12-0 win Monday night at VA Memorial Stadium.

Will Rettig set the tone on the mound, retiring the first 10 Lafayette (15-15) hitters in order. Meanwhile, the Paints' (24-11) offense wasted little time building a lead.

Eric Colaco led off the bottom of the first with an infield hit, scoring on the next pitch when Tim Orr hit a home run over the right field wall, giving the Paints a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Orr doubled to left center, later scoring on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Alex Bemis walked, went to second on a wild pitch and stole third, scoring on a errant throw by the Lafayette catcher, making it 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Ken Hemmer hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Reid Douglas, extending the lead to 5-0.

The Paints added three more in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on a Felix Polanco groundout, an RBI hit by Alex Bemis and an RBI hit by Clay Burdette, putting Chillicothe in front 8-0.

Rettig (3-2) finished five innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. Noah Shapo made his debut, throwing the final two innings and allowing just one hit while striking out a pair.

Offensively, the Paints weren't done, scoring four more times in the bottom of the sixth. Orr doubled for the second time, collecting his fourth hit on the night and driving in his third and fourth runs of the night. Tyler Mendez walked with the bases loaded, forcing home another run. Burdette popped out to foul ground by first and was credited with a sacrifice fly, scoring Polanco on the play and making it 12-0.

The Paints own the best record in the Prospect League and are now 5-1 in the second half. 

Chillicothe begins a four-game road trip Tuesday with a 6:35 p.m. matchup against the Champion City Kings in Springfield, Ohio. Chillicothe plays Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Johnstown, Pa., before returning home for a weekend series with the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp.