Catfish Offense Stays Hot
Johnstown, PA – Friday July 4th, 2025 Reagan Howe
Hitting the road for the 4th of July, the Catfish put on their own display of fireworks with an insane day offensively against the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Mill Rats. It was a star-spangled slugfest as the Fish delivered big hits to secure the win.
The Catfish set the tone early in the game when Matthew Cash (Jacksonville State) drilled one into center field gap for a triple, bringing home Owen Henne (Seton Hill) to put the team on the board. The Mill Rats were quick to answer the first run but they were put on the back burner with a two run homer in the fourth from Wilser Then (Cumberland University) and an RBI single from Nathan Bowie (Harding University) to make the score 5-1 Catfish after four innings
A huge seventh inning was crucial to the team’s successes as they exploded for a total of six runs. Sam Richardson (Jacksonville State) was hit by a pitch with bases loaded. This was followed by a two-run single from Caleb Champion (Southeast Missouri State) along with a few errors from the Mill Rats and the score was 11-2 Fish heading into the bottom of the 8th.
The Mill Rats did all they could to try and come back with the help of the Catfish bullpen. Newly signed Catfish pitcher, Jackson Merbet (Trevecca College), couldn’t buy a strike and ended up allowing four earned runs on fur walks and a hit. Two other Catfish relievers struggled as well until Head Coach Gary McClure had seen enough and called on his bullpen ace Walker Brodt (Winthrop University), to shut the door. Brodt threw five pitches, all strikes to get his 4th save of the season and secure and 11-7 Catfish victory.
Sean Williams (Seton Hill University) started the game and threw a solid 4.2 innings, striking out two batters and only allowing 2 runs. He was relieved by Zach Herb (Seton Hill University) who threw an additional 2.1 innings and contributed another strikeout to the count.
The Catfish are 2-1 on the long road trip and will play the Mill Rats Saturday night again before packing up and heading towards home. Finishing out the week on Sunday in Chillicothe, Ohio in a matchup against the Paints. Aside from the All-stars, the team will get a two day break before being back in action Wednesday night at Capaha.