The Lima Locos’ Ty Gill fields a ground ball during Wednesday night’s game against the Richmond Jazz at Simmons Field.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA – The matchup screamed for a memorable pitcher’s battle.
For six innings, that’s what the fans saw. That all came to a screeching halt when Richmond went to its bullpen.
The Locos scored six in the seventh and went on to post an 11-1, eight-inning, run-rule victory over Richmond on Wednesday at Simmons Field.
The game was tied at 1 before the Locos scored six in the seventh against two Jazz relievers.
The Locos (19-17) are tied with Jet Box (19-17) for second place and the final playoff spot in the North Division of the Great Lakes Collegiate League.
The Locos own the head-to-head tie-breaker over Jet Box.
“We definitely needed to win that one,” Locos coach Matt Furuto said. “Thankfully, we stuck in there and blew it open when we needed to.’’
Michigan (22-14) has clinched first place in the North.
The Locos have two games left, both at Richmond (Ind.). Richmond is 17-19.
“It’s going to be a battle (this weekend), and we have to win,” Furuto said. “If we can hit, I think we’ll have a good shot.’’
For the Locos, catcher Joe Salvo went 3 for 5 with two RBI.
“It felt awesome,” Salvo said. “We’re getting close to the playoffs. Now we have to take two from Richmond and go into the playoffs on a hot note.’’
Ty Gill was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
Bryant Herring was 2 for 5 with two RBI.
Derrick “DJ” Jackson was 2 for 2 with four walks.
Jayden Davis was 2 for 4. Isaiah Velazco had one hit, two RBI and a nice diving catch in left field.
In the home seventh, Carson Garner had an RBI single to shallow center field, which the defense didn’t see, to give the Locos a 2-1 lead.
Isaiah Velazco’s RBI single made it 3-1.
Salvo delivered a two-run single to center and the Locos’ lead grew to 5-1 in the seventh.
The three-hit night was a season high for Salvo. He entered the night with eight hits on the summer.
“I got behind in the count, and I just tried to put something in play,” Salvo said. “I got jammed a little bit, but it found its way up the middle.
“It feels awesome. I feel like I’ve been seeing the ball better lately. I really needed it.’’
Added Furuto, “(Salvo’s) been working hard. He just hasn’t caught any breaks.’’
Bryant Herring’s sacrifice fly made it 6-1, and the Locos added a seventh run on a passed ball in the seventh.
The Locos tacked on four more runs in the eighth to end it.
Jackson’s RBI single to center made it an 11-1 walk-off win in the eighth.
The pitching matchup featured the two top ERA pitchers in the league.
Lima sent Carter Doorn (2-1, 0.77 ERA) to the mound, and Richmond countered with Matt Dickey (4-1, 1.12).
Doorn went six innings for the Locos and gave up one run, earned, on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Doorn (Purdue) threw 95 pitches, 68 for strikes.
Dickey also went six innings and gave up one run, earned, on seven hits. He struck out eight and walked four.
Dickey threw 111 pitches, 67 for strikes.
Dickey strutted off the mound to the dugout after his sixth and final inning doing a “rock the baby” impression.
“He (Dickey) was one of the better arms in the league,” Salvo said. “I saw him a couple years ago when we (Samford) played him (at Tennessee-Martin). He had a good cutter, and we just had to find a way to get him out of the game.’’
Both pitchers pitched out of trouble and came up with big pitches in the clutch.
The Locos left the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings. They had 10 left on base through the first six innings and 15 for the game.
Richmond left eight on base through the first six innings.
“Both pitchers did a great job getting out of jams,” Furuto said. “It was stressful throughout. Then, when we broke it open, it was a sigh of relief, and we could breathe a little bit.’’
Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.
The Locos tied the game at 1 in the fourth with an RBI single to right by Davis.
Anthony Kyle (Findlay) picked up the victory with two innings of shutout, no-hit relief. He struck out two and walked none.
“He’s done a great job coming out of the pen,” Furuto said.
Locos notes: The Locos conclude the regular season at Richmond on Friday and Saturday.
Locos shortstop Ty Gill (Purdue) is second in the league in hitting at .364. Jayden Davis (Samford) is sixth at .337.
Gill leads the league in walks (25) and is second in stolen bases (23). The 23 stolen bases are third most in Locos’ history behind only Tyler Grogg (41) and Mike Mulligan (25). He’s tied with R.C. Dickerson (23).
Derrick Jackson (Jacksonville State) has lifted his average to .326 with two home runs. Over his last six games, he’s hitting .461 (12 for 26).
Game 1 of the GLCL semifinal playoff series starts on Tuesday.
