Chrisman, Borders lead Catfish over Burlington

The Cape Catfish bats continued to stay hot as they downed the Burlington Bees 12-3 on Wednesday at Capaha Field.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, the Catfish would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first courtesy of an RBI double from Belmont’s Jeff Clarke and a two-run single by Purdue’s Brody Chrisman.

“The guys came out with energy and everything was great,” Chrisman said. “The offense produced by getting guys on base and in scoring position. The pitching staff did their job and got a lot of outs.”

The Bees would have an answer to the three-spot the Catfish put up by scoring another run in the top of the second to cut the lead in half to 3-2.

However, it didn’t take Brody Chrisman long to strike again as he roped a three-run double to break the game open and make it 6-2 Catfish.

Chrisman finished the game 4-for-5 with 5 RBIs and a run scored in the win.

“I just try not to overcomplicate or overthink things,” Chrisman said. “I’ve been playing this game since I was three years old, I just want to do the same thing.”

The Catfish would tack on four more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Eastern Illinois’ Kolton Poorman doubled home a pair of runs, Crowder College’s Quinton Borders doubled home Poorman and Creek Robertson drove in Borders via a sacrifice fly.

Borders finished his evening going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

“It was just another day at the office,” Borders said. “I’m just playing baseball, trying to enjoy it and just want to keep grinding.”

Following Chrisman's and Borders’ big day were Eastern Kentucky’s Justin Carinci and Lincoln Memorial University’s Chris Hall who each had three hits in the 12-3 win.

Getting the start on the mound for the Catfish was Jorge Romero who lasted 3.2 innings allowing one earned run on six hits and five strikeouts.

Picking up the win on the mound was Noah Gadberry who tossed 5.1 innings allowing one earned run on just three hits while striking out four.

With the win, the Catfish improved to 17-2 on the season. Chrisman attributes the success the team has seen to the way they have come together.

“Our chemistry is unlike anything I’ve ever had,” Chrisman said. “For a group of guys to come together this quickly, it’s been unreal.”

The Catfish are back in action at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, when they travel to take on the Jackson Rockabillys in Jackson, Tennessee.

The Catfish will return home at 6:35 p.m. on Friday June 23, where they will host the Rockabillys at Capaha Field.