TERRE HAUTE, IN – As the road trip continues for Champion City, the Kings battled their last Wabash River Division foe in the Terre Haute Rex for the last time in the 2021 regular season. Coming into the doubleheader, the Kings have gone winless against the Rex in eight contests.

In Game One, Gage Voorhees (Springfield, OH; Flagler College) made his first start since the home game against Lafayette on June 26th. The last time the former Northwestern High School Warrior gave up an earned run was the 12-5 loss at home to Chillicothe on July 2nd. Voorhees has been a strong arm in the bullpen for the Kings, including throwing a scoreless eighth inning in the 13-5 win at home against Danville. The right-hander continued his strong performances in the first two innings, until the Rex scored three in the third. The Rex hit pair of one-out singles and both runners were brought home by a three-run home run by Alec Brunson. Terre Haute led 3-0 after three.

The Kings tied the first game up in the sixth, beginning with a one-out walk to Brent Widder (Sheboygan, WI; Evansville.) An error by the catcher scooted Widder over to third, and Ben Ross (Springfield, OH; Notre Dame College) walked to put the Kings at the corners. A wild pitch during Lukas Galdoni’s (Hawthorn Woods, IL; Butler) at-bat scored Widder. Ross came home by stealing third and taking advantage of another error by the Rex. Mitchell Okuley (Powell, OH; Ohio State) tripled after Ross came home and then came home with Alex Ryan’s (Lake Mills, WI; Valparaiso) at-bat via a wild pitch. Champion City tied the game up 3-3, but the Rex took the lead again in their part of the sixth.

A two-out single by JJ Wetherholt (Gibsonia, PA; West Virginia), the reigning Slugger of the Week in the Prospect League, kept the seventh inning rally attempt alive, but the Kings couldn’t muster a run and Terre Haute won their ninth straight against the Springfield, Ohio team. The Kings only collected three hits in the game, with Voorhees throwing a complete game with four earned runs allowed on eleven hits on one walk and six strikeouts.

The second game went Champion City’s way, en route to an 11-1 win. Terre Haute scored their only run in the third against Tyberius Correa (Riverview, FL; Faulkner), but the Kings rattled off five runs in the fourth. Widder advanced to second by two errors, with Okuley reaching on a walk. Galdoni drove a three-run shot to give Champion City the lead for good.

Six more runs scored in the sixth frame, with Bo Seccombe (Tallahassee, FL; Faulkner) being hit by a pitch. Trey Carter (Wheelersburg, OH; Rio Grande) picked up a base hit, followed by Alex Ryan walking to load the bases with zero outs. Breydan Cavey (Medina, OH; Akron) brought home a run with another hit-by-pitch, as did Ross following him. Okuley drove home two with a one-out single. Ethan Krizen (North Port, FL; Thomas) forced in a run with another bases-loaded walk, and Seccombe scored one more run with a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring and have the visiting team leading 11-1.

The game ended in the last part of the seventh due to lightning strikes around the ball park, with the Kings winning by ten runs. In the nightcap, Champion City knocked in nine hits with Correa throwing 6.1 innings officially. The tall right-hander allowed one earned run on seven hits, walking nobody and striking out four for the victory.

Champion City will visit Chillicothe next and West Virginia for two games to close out the last road games of the regular season. Playoff tickets are now on sale by visiting the ticket office at Carleton Davidson Stadium one hour before any home game or by visiting The MacRay Co. on West North Street in Springfield. Visit championcitykings.com for more information on tickets and how to watch the next games on PL TV.