The Catfish Reel.
Your Catfish Baseball News.

ALTON, IL (June 6) – A grand slam by Catfish left fielder Brody Chrisman and a two-run long-ball off the bat of designated hitter Hayden Nazarenus were more than enough to propel the Cape Catfish to their sixth-straight win as they defeated the Alton River Dragons 15-5 Tuesday night in Alton.

It was also the fourth consecutive “mercy rule” win for the Catfish, meaning they defeated their opponents by 10 or more runs by the seventh inning.

Although the 2023 Prospect League season is only a week old, Tuesday night’s game between the Catfish and Alton River Dragons was a significant test for both teams. A win by the Dragons would have pulled them even with the Catfish atop the league’s Prairie Land Division, but the loss dropped them two games behind the Fish and just a half game ahead of the Thrillville Thrillbillies who lost Monday night to the Jackson (Tennessee) Rockabillys who picked up their first win of the season.

The Catfish got on the scoreboard first Tuesday night when Chris Hall (Lincoln Memorial University) beat out an infield grounder in the top of the third and scored two batters later when Justin Carinci (Eastern Kentucky) tripled to right.

Alton answered in the bottom of the inning when River Dragons right fielder A.J. LaRocco knocked a solo home run over the left field fence to tie the game, 1-1. It was Alton’s first hit of the game and LaRocco’s first home run of the season.

And then came the fourth inning when the Catfish sent 13 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits, including the two-run homer by Nazarenus, a freshman at Crowder College from Caruthersville, Missouri. It was his first round-tripper of the season and the second of the year for the Catfish. The team’s third home run of the season, Chrisman’s grand slam, came in the fifth inning. Chrisman is a freshman at Purdue from Zionsville, Indiana. It was his second home run of the season with his first coming the previous night against the O’Fallon Hoots.

Catfish starter Breven Yarbro from Chaffee, Missouri, pitched four strong innings, allowing two Dragon runs while striking out seven and walking three and was credited with the win. Alton starter Alex Renfrow, a freshman at Galveston College, took the loss, allowing nine hits and seven earned runs in his three-and-two-thirds innings.

Cape pounded out 15 hits with every Catfish batter collecting at least one. Hall went 3 for 5 and scored four times. Chrisman, second baseman Kevin McCarthy (Tennessee Southern) and catcher Landon Godsey (Belmont) each had two hits. In addition to his triple in the third inning, Carinci was initially credited with a double in the sixth frame when a ball was misplayed by a Dragon outfielder. However, the double was changed to a two-base error, one of four committed by the River Dragons.

In their six wins, the Catfish have scored a total of 74 runs (an average of more than 12 runs a game) while giving up just 15 runs.

The Catfish return to Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau Wednesday for a 6:35 p.m. game against the Dans from Danville, Illinois. Danville is in first place in the Prospect League’s Wabash River Division with a record of 4-2.

Tickets for Wednesday night’s game are available through the Catfish website, www.capecatfish.com.