LIMA – This game could get a nomination for the Wacky Hall of Fame.
Besides the errors, wild pitches, hit batters and walks, fans were able to see two balls in play “at the same time.’’
The Lima Locos withstood the craziness with a seven-run seventh inning to post a 12-7 victory over Lorain County Monday at Simmons Field.
The Locos, who had 12 hits, stand 2-1, while Lorain County is 1-3.
“We did a little bit of everything, good and bad,” Locos coach Brian Garman said. “We made some nice plays and we made four errors. We had some nice baserunner. We had some really poor baserunning. We threw the ball well at points and I thought we didn’t so well at points. There was a little bit of everything tonight.’’
Added Locos Colin Stolly, “It was just a weird game. There were a lot of things we saw tonight that we haven’t seen in a long time or have never seen before.’’
Lorain County led 6-5 entering the home seventh when a full night of crazy ensued.
The Ironmen walked six Locos in the seventh, including two with the bases loaded.
But there were also keys hits in the seventh.
Will Robertson (Creighton) hit a two-run single to give the Locos the lead to stay, 7-6.
The Locos made it 8-6 on a Tyler Tolbert single and a wild throw by the Lorain pitcher.
Colin Stolly’s two-run single made it 10-6.
But before Stolly’s hit, a pitch went behind him and all the way to the backstop, where it sat.
Locos runner Stephen Dobbs then stole second and began heading to third while the ball sat the backstop.
Meanwhile, with the ball at the backstop, the umpire threw a new ball back to the pitcher, who threw to third to seemingly get Dobbs at third.
“They throw a ball in play and the ball is sitting behind me and I’m like, ‘What’s going on,?’ ’’
The umpire ruled he had called time when he put the new ball in play and sent the Locos runner back to second.
That just added to the crazy night.
“The first ball was back here behind the umpire and he said he called time,” Garman said. “Once he grants time, it’s over. But it was a live ball and no one said he called time. Then, he threw another ball in and the real ball was lying back there. We tried to send Dobbs to third and he called it off and sent him back to second base.’’
It was wacky to say the least.
For the Locos, Will Kilgore went 3 for 3. Stolly was 3 for 4 with a walk and two RBI.
Garrett Hodges hit his second home run of the year and had two RBI.
J.T. Thomas had a single and two RBI. Robertson went 2 for 5 with two RBI.
The Locos took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI groundout by Thomas.
Lorain tied the game at 1 in the second on a solo home run to right by Jack Longo.
Lorain scored three in the fourth to pull out to a 4-1 lead.
The Locos came back with two in the fourth, including Hodges’ home run, to get within 4-3.
The Locos’ Parker Upton’s two-run home run in the fifth gave the Locos a 5-4 lead.
Lorain added two runs in the sixth inning to grab a 6-5 lead.
Brad Croy (Bowling Green/O-G) started and went five innings for the Locos. He gave up four runs, one earned, on seven hits. He struck out three and walked two.
“He’s (Croy) an area guy and we know he’s good. He had good success here last season,” Garman said.
The Locos Isaac Olson (Cincinnati) picked up the win with 1 1/3 shutout innings of relief.
Locos notes: Locos first baseman Jack Barrie made his first appearance of the year. Barrie, from Kalgoorlie, Australia, was the national player of the year at the Australian national tournament and was signed by the Twins out of high school. He was released after one year playing for the Twins rookie league team. From there, he enrolled at UNOH, but was ineligible to play this year because he played professionally. He can’t be drafted because he signed and played pro ball, but can sign as a free agent. … Mississippi State’s Cole Gordon is expected to join the Locos after his team was eliminated in the super regionals by LSU on Sunday.
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