The Lima Locos’ Landon Underhill bats during Friday night’s game against the Sandusky Ice Haulers at Simmons Field.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
The first inning of the Lima Locos’ 6-2 win over the Sandusky Ice Haulers on Friday night told the story of the game.
Not the whole story, but a big part of it. The Locos scored four runs on just two hits in that opening inning and Sandusky never recovered.
There weren’t a lot of offensive fireworks after that. But those four runs were more than enough when four Locos pitchers limited the Ice Haulers to six hits in the game at Simmons Field.
The Locos added a run in the sixth inning on a home run by Aidyn Coffey in the fourth inning and got another run in the sixth inning when Jack Porter doubled home Justin Rumfield. But the possible blowout that the first inning seemed to promise never quite materialized.
“That’s happened a couple times this summer. It’s an easy thing to happen in baseball. You come out and score a bunch of runs and you let off the gas,” Locos coach Chad Ehrnsberger said. “Fortunately our pitchers were able to keep them off the board. It’s not something you like to see but at the same time it’s understandable.”
The win raised the Locos’ Great Lakes Summer College League record to 18-7. Sandusky dropped to 13-11.
Because its intended starting pitcher was unable to pitch because of arm problems, Sandusky went with Kyle Fitzgerald as an emergency starter and he found himself surrounded by Locos baserunners and in a predicament almost immediately in the bottom of the first inning.
After getting leadoff hitter Anthony Zarlingo out, Fitzgerald walked the next two batters, Caleb Herd and Eduarny Martinez, then allowed back-to-back singles to Landon Underhill and Rumfield, which drove in the Locos’ first two runs.
A ground out by Porter produced the Locos’ third run of the inning and a balk brought home the fourth run.
The Locos drew four walks, stole four bases and and benefited from two balks by Fitzgerald in the first inning.
Fitzgerald pitched the first five innings and finished with a line of five runs allowed, five earned runs, five hits allowed, one strikeout and four walks.
The Locos used four pitchers. Steven Cash started and threw three hitless innings and allowed just one hit. Reese Bassinger followed him and threw two hitless innings. Bassinger was credited with the win.
Ryan Denison pitched the sixth and seventh innings and allowed one run. Hudson Parker pitched the eighth and ninth innings and gave up one run.
Rumfield, who was 2 for 4 was the only Loco with more than one hit. J.T. Popick, who went 2 for 4, was the only Ice Hauler with more than one hit.
Sandusky loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning on a walk, a single and an infield single. It scored its second run of the game on a two-out bases loaded walk to Connor Ostrander, which brought the potential tying run to the plate. But Hudson struck out Sam Seidel to end it.
The Locos have the next three days off. “The time off will definitely do them good. Hopefully, they’ll come back Tuesday refreshed and ready for the stretch run,” Ehrnsberger said.
