Locos win it all

ATHENS — Locos left-hander Adam Clark said he wanted the ball with the game on the line.

He got it and made sure Southern Ohio couldn’t do anything with it.

Clark dominated with 4.2 shutout, no-hit innings of relief to lift the Lima Locos to a 2-1 victory in Game 2 over Southern Ohio and the series championship of the Great Lakes Collegiate League Sunday at Bob Wren Stadium. The Locos won the championship best-of-3 series, 2-0.

"It was a good end to the summer. The last inning was nuts," Clark said. "My heart was pounding pretty good. It was a great time."

It marks the Locos’ third GLCL title. They won in 1993 and 2004.

"It was a great testament to these kids," Locos coach Gene Stechschulte said. "They deserve this. Coming in everyone talked about Southern Ohio and thought they were going to walk through it and they are a great team, but we had something this year and that showed."

Added Shawnee grade Garrett Black, "I haven’t won a championship in a while and to bring it home to Lima, my hometown, feels great to bring it home for the fans."

Clark struck out one and walked one to earn the win. He retired the final 13 batters he faced to clinch the title.

"Smooth (Clark) was dealing, so you leave him," Stechschulte said. "If I came out to get him (Clark) in the ninth, he would have run away from me."

Leading 2-1 entering the ninth, Clark (Eastern Illinois) got Joel Fisher to hit a hump-back liner to third baseman Dustin Dunlop. Billy Cribbs flied to center for the second out. On the first pitch, Austin Haney popped out to Matt Morse at second to set off a full-scale celebration pile up just behind the mound.

Pitching and defense was the difference. Garrett Black made several tough plays at short and center fielder Cesar Loiz made a spectacular diving grab on his stomach off the bat of Joe Ciamacco, who led off the seventh.

"It was a little bit hard, but I knew I could do it," Loiz said. "I don’t have words for this."

Southern Ohio scored a run in the first as Locos starter Zach Helewski was battling his control. With one out Tyler Grogg put down a bunt single. Helewski then hit Mike August with a pitch and walked Jensen Painter to load the bases with one out. Seth Streich’s sacrifice fly to Loiz in deep center field gave the Copperheads a 1-0 lead.

The Locos evened the game at 1 in the third. Loiz reached on an infield error and Morse put down a perfect bunt single down the first-base line. A passed ball put the runners on second and third. Dunlop’s RBI groundout to second tied the game at 1.

The Locos took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. With Will Arnold at second and Loiz at first, the runners went in motion with Morse missing a pitch. Arnold stole third and came home when the throw to third by Copperheads catcher Joel Fisher ended up in left field.

"It’s a dream come true, not only to win this league, but to win with these guys," Morse said. "The fans we have in Lima are unbelievable."

Helewski settled in after the first inning. He went 4.1 innings and gave up one run on three hits. He struck out three and walked four.

Locos first baseman Andy Chriscaden was ejected by the home plate umpire in the fourth inning after arguing a called third strike.

"It shows it’s about the whole team," Chriscaden said.

Stechschulte added, "That was fun to see for me, that all the guys I put in clutch situations, nobody shied from it.