Thrillbillies defeat Catfish for Prairie Land Division Championship

The Basics
Score: Thrillville Thrillbillies 10, Cape Catfish 5
Records: Thrillville Thrillbillies (34-21, 1-0), Cape Catfish (39-18, 0-1)
Location: Capaha Field - Cape Girardeau, Missouri

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO  – The Thrillville Thrillbillies are headed to the Western Conference Championship game with a 10-5 victory over the Cape Catfish Sunday at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau.

The Prairie Land Division Champion Thrillbillies will host the Quincy Gems, the winner of the Great River Division Land Division, in the Western Conference Championship on Tuesday. 

The Catfish took the initial lead in the game scoring 1-run in the bottom of the 1st inning on a Justin Carinici sacrifice fly that scored Chris Hall.

It was all Thrillbillies after that as Thrillville scored 7 runs in the top of the 3rd inning. Alex Wilson got it started with an RBI single then Jackson Cooke and Jackson Lindsey went back-to-back with RBI doubles. Bryson Arnette added 1 more with an RBI single and Charlie Corum capped it off with a 3-run home run to put the score at 7-1 after 3 innings. 

Cape pushed a run across in the 5th with a Kevin McCarthy RBI single, but Thrillville answered with 3 runs in the top of the 7th with a Corum groundball and a Cooke 2-run home run. 

The Catfish put on the comeback in the bottom of the 9th entering trailing 10-2, but fell just short only pushing 3 runs across on a Hall groundball and a Carinici 2-run single to give the game its 10-5 final.

Turning Point
A 7-run inning was all Thrillville needed putting up a huge crooked number on the Catfish in the 3rd inning and never looking back.

Inside The Box Score

• Thrillville starter Ryan Daly picked up his 4th win of the season going 4 innings of 2-run baseball with 6 strikeouts.

• Jorge Romero, the Prospect League leader in ERA entering the postseason, only managed 2.2 innings on the mound for the Catfish finishing with 5 runs and the loss.

• The Catfish offense that led the Prospect League in multiple categories most of the season put up 8 hits but went 0-10 with 2-outs, batted .235 with runners on, and stranded 9 runners on base. 

• Thrillville recorded 6 extra-base hits including 2 by Jackson Cooke as Cook went 2-5 with a double, a home run, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs. 

Notes

• This is the Thrillbilles' 1st Division Championship, grabbing the title in their inaugural season in the Prospect League.

• The Catfish fall in their quest for their second title in 5 seasons and their 3rd championship series appearance after starting the season a Prospect League record 12-0.

• The Thrillbillies will look to match the Catfish, who are the only recent team to make the Prospect League Championship in their inaugural season, as the Catfish lost in the Championship in 2019.

Up Next
Thrillville advances to Tuesday's Conference Championship round and will face the Quincy Gems, the Great River Division Champions, in the Western Conference Championship. Game time Tuesday is TBD but will be hosted by Thrillville at Marion Stadium