The Kings will face the Paints in the Ohio River Valley Division championship game at 6 p.m. Sunday at Chillicothe VA Memorial Stadium. The winner will play the Wabash River Division champion in the Eastern Conference championship game on Aug. 8 at a site and time to be determined.
The Eastern Conference champion will face the Western Conference champion in a three-game series beginning Aug. 10 through Aug. 13.
The Kings finished the first half in last place in the Ohio River Valley Division with a 10-19 mark, but improved to 29-27 overall with a 10-9 come-from-behind victory over the Paints on Wednesday night in Springfield. The Kings lead the league in home runs (57) and extra-base hits (170) and rank third in doubles (101).
The key, said Kings Manager Gavin Murphy, has been a shift in team chemistry during the second half of the season. Each night when Murphy fills out the Kings the lineup card, he writes the word ‘Ferda’ — an abbreviated form of the phrase “for the boys” used by hockey players in the Canadian sitcom Letterkenny.
“One thing I always preach is I’m ‘ferda’ boys,” Murphy said. “I’m a young guy and I’m always here for the boys. I don’t look at them so much as players, I look at them as brothers. We’re close in age and some people may frown upon that, but I thrive in that role. I want them to feel like they can talk to me as men and not like I’m your superior. As long as I’m the manager and I’m ‘ferda’ boys, they know they need to be ‘ferda’ boys as well.”
The Kings will be making their second playoff appearance since moving to Springfield in 2014.
With one win in their final two regular season games — they travel to Chillicothe on Thursday and host the Paints on Friday — the Kings will clinch the second-half title. The team will also clinch its first overall winning season in franchise history and best record since going 29-29 in 2017.
“It’s a testament to the players,” Murphy said. “It was kind of reminiscent of last year in how it started. Hopefully we can keep this thing going. We finally got the guys to buy-in and understand that it’s not about you, it’s about the guys and the team. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve been preaching all year.”
The Kings last won the Ohio River Valley Division championship in 2021 before falling to the Lafayette (Ind.) Aviators in the Eastern Conference final.
In the playoffs, they’ll face a strong Chillicothe squad that has a Prospect League-best 38 wins and is seeking its third championship in four years.
“The biggest thing is to keep being ‘ferda’,” Murphy said. “Keep being for the boys, care about the person next to you and don’t be selfish. That’s the biggest thing.”
Champion City also leads the league in sacrifice flies with 32 — proving they’ll do anything ‘ferda’ boys.
“I think they grasp what it means and what it means to me,” Murphy said.
NEXT HOME GAME
Who: Chillicothe Paints at Champion City Kings
When: 6:35 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4
Where: Carleton Davidson Stadium, 1101 Mitchell Blvd., Springfield
Cost: $9 for adults; $7 for students, seniors and military; Children 5 and under free.
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