Chillicothe Paints are back-to-back Prospect League champions
The Chillicothe Paints, presented by CohenOrthopedic, are the 2023 Prospect League Champions.
The Paints defeated the Quincy Gems, 12-8 in game three of the Prospect League Championship Series at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe. The title is Paints' second straight, third in the last four seasons and a Prospect League-record fourth overall.
Game three started with the Gems on top as Quincy scored two runs in the top of the first inning on a Kyle Hvidsten single and a Tristian Meny sacrifice fly.
The Paints answered with one run in the bottom of the first as Victor Figueroa drove in Tyler Shaneyfelt on a sacrifice fly, and the game sat at 2-1 heading to the second.
The second inning was the turning point in the contest. The Gems stranded two runners on base after Otto Jones and Jimmy Koza both walked and opened the door for the Paints to take a lead.
Nate Dorinsky led off with a double and moved over to third on a CJ Carmichael groundout. With one out, Shaneyfelt was unable to drive him home, but the Paints caught a break as Gems' starting pitcher Noah Harbin allowed Dorinksy to score on a wild pitch.
Harbin walked Cole Kwiatkowski and Tim Orr and had to face Figueroa with two outs and two runners on. Figueroa blasted his second home run of the series, and the Paints had the 5-2 lead. They added one more on a CJ Dean single and the Paints led 6-2 after two innings.
Paints' starting pitcher Will Retig continued to deal, holding the Gems scoreless in the third and fourth and setting up the Paints to put the game out of reach. The Paints added two more in the third on a Kwaitkowski two-run home run, then added three in the fourth on a Brayden White RBI single, a throwing error on the Gems and a Dorinksy sacrifice fly. The Paints led 11-2 after four innings.
The Gems started the comeback in the fifth. Jaison Adnujar got it started with a 2-run home run, and Joe Siervo followed with a double to score Meny. The Paints answered with a Tim Orr solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, and the Gems trailed 12-5 heading to the sixth.
The Paints went scoreless the rest of the way, but the Gems kept scratching to keep it close. The Gems scored one in the eighth on a Koza RBI single and two in the ninth on a Harry Oden two-RBI single. In the end, they came up just short of the comeback bid, falling 12-8 for the final.
The starters were the pitchers of record, as Harbin took the loss for the Gems and Rettig picked up the victory for the Paints.
Victor Figueroa was named Championship Series MVP after going 4-8 with 2 runs scored, 9 runs batted in, 6 walks, 1 double and 2 home runs in the 3 games. Figueroa batted .500 with a .667 on-base percentage and a 1.375 slugging percentage across the championship series.
Every Paints starter recorded a hit, and all but one scored a run as the Paints scored 12 runs on 12 hits. CJ Dean, Tyler Shaneyfelt and Cole Kwiatkowski all recorded two hits in the game.
The Gems out-hit the Paints by one, scoring eight runs on 13 hits. Jaison Andujar went 2-4 with a home run, a run scored and two RBIs, and Harry Oden went 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.
On the mound, the Gems gave up 11 walks and only struck out six while throwing five different pitchers in the loss. Jake Syverson went 2.2 no-hit and shutout innings to keep the game close.
The Paints threw three pitchers and combined for 10 strikeouts on the mound compared to just four walks.
It was magic number 12 for the Paints as they scored 12 runs in all three games of the championship series.
The Gems offense was back alive, scoring eight runs after being shut out the previous night. The final series run total goes to the Paints, who outscored the Gems, 34-26 across the three games.
The Paints win their fourth Prospect League championship, breaking the tie with Quincy and West Virginia at three and moving into sole possession of most titles all-time.
The Paints are the second team in Prospect League history to win back-to-back titles and are the first to win three titles in a four-season span.