The Lima Locos have been playing for 31 years in the Great Lakes Collegiate League.
And this was the first time the Locos won 30 games in the regular season.
The Locos went 30-11 and easily won the Central Division title. They erased the previous Locos’ record for wins (29-14) set in 2011.
Now it’s on to the best-of-three semifinal series against a team to be named. Providing the play-in games get played on Tuesday, the Locos will play Game 1 in the best-of-three semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Simmons Field.
Game 2 will be on the road on Thursday, while Game 3 (if necessary) will be at home on Friday.
“We have confidence in these guys all summer,” Locos coach Brian Garman said. “We’ve had no reason to lose confidence. … I’m excited about it. I think at this point it doesn’t matter who plays, we have a lot of faith and a lot of trust in whoever’s on the field.’’
The Locos earned the No. 1 seed and have home-field advantage through the playoffs.
“We put ourselves in the best position possible to set ourselves up for success for the postseason,” Garman said.
The Locos led the league in pitching with an ERA of 3.22.
They ranked seventh in hitting (.272) and fifth in fielding percentage (.965).
Here’s the 2017 Locos’ grade card:
Infield
It was a productive year at first base with Jack Barrie (UNOH) and Josh DeBacker (Wichita State), who also played right field.
Barrie was coming off major knee surgery, but showed why he played a year in the Phillies’ minor leagues after he was signed out of Australia. He hit .304 with five home runs and 21 RBI. DeBacker was second on the team in hitting at .353 with four doubles and 16 RBI. Barrie made the All-Star team.
Jeddediah Fagg (Yavapai) also saw action at first and hit .228 with one home run.
Second base was handled by Will Kilgore (Georgia State) and Colin Stolly (Ohio Wesleyan). Kilgore tied the club record for doubles with 14, which had been held by Andy Chriscaden (2011) and John LaMar (1991).
Kilgore battled through a right shoulder injury and hit .248 with four home runs and 22 RBI. He stole 15 bases.
Stolly played excellent defense and hit .269 with nine RBI.
Shortstop was in the steady hands of All-Star Tyler Tolbert (Alabama Birmingham). Besides covering plenty of ground at short, he batted a team-high .354 and was fourth in the league in stolen bases (19).
Third base had a revolving door of Jaxxon Fagg (Yavapai), Stephen Dobbs (Alabama Birmingham) and late-signee Jay Meuse (Chattahoochee Valley).
Fagg hit .225 with two home runs and 17 RBI. Dobbs, primarily a catcher, hit .299. Meuse, who can also play short, displayed a good glove and a strong, accurate arm. He hit .343 over 32 at-bats.
Grade: A-
Catcher
Stephen Dobbs (Alabama Birmingham), J.T. Thomas (Mercer) and Josh Wooten (Cincinnati) were all solid behind the plate. All three displayed a strong arm. Dobbs hit .299 with six doubles and eight RBI.
Thomas, an All-Star, hit .207 with three doubles and seven RBI. Wooten hit .170 with one home run and eight RBI.
Grade: B+
Outfield
The primary outfield was Garrett Hodges (Kennesaw State) in left, Ethan Hurt (Trevecca Nazarene) in center and DeBacker (Wichita State) in right. DeBacker hit .353.
Hodges batted .297 and led the team in home runs (6) and RBI (29).
Hurt hit .295 with two home runs and 17 RBI. He had 10 steals.
Locos veteran Ross Adolph (Toledo) returned late in the year after knee surgery. He played center and hit .238 with one home run and seven RBI.
Terence Norman (Kennesaw State) came back from an early hamstring injury and hit .306.
The entire outfield is above average on defense, with Hurt covering plenty of ground in center.
Hodges and Hurt both made the All-Star team.
Grade: A
Starting pitching
This was a team strength with four solid starters all season in right-hander Brad Croy (Bowling Green State/Ottawa-Glandorf), All-Star right-hander Colin Gossard (Findlay/Bath), Zach Graveno (Mercer) and Chase Burks (Mercer).
There was also Isaiah Gonzales Montoya (Alabama Birmingham), but he reached his innings limit for the summer and headed home last week.
All five had an ERA of 2.61 or lower.
Croy went 2-1 and ranked fifth in the league in ERA (1.95). In 46 innings, he struck out 36.
Gossard went 1-1 with a 2.32. He had 24 strikeouts in 19 innings.
Graveno was 3-0 and ranked fourth in the league in ERA (1.91).
Burks, a bulldog on the mound, went 5-0 with a 2.61. He had 37 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Tyler Jones (Dayton/Bellefontaine) returned late in the year from illness. He went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 17 innings.
Grade: A+
Bullpen
One inconsistent area was the bullpen.
The star of the bullpen was All-Star Joe Gahm (Auburn), who ranked third in the league in ERA (1.60). He struck out 38 and walked only three in 33 innings.
But if Gahm wasn’t available, it could be a chore getting the ball to closer Taylor Wilkes (Kennesaw State).
All-Star Wilkes had five saves and was very good most of the year. He had one rough outing at the end of the year, which shot his ERA up to 4.82. He struck out 13 in nine innings.
All-Star set-up man lefty Joe Taylor (Kennesaw State) had a 2.93.
Lefty Chandler Stillings (Bowling Green) compiled a 1.58 in 17 innings. Isaac Olson (Cincinnati) had a 4.61.
Cole Baker (Marshalltown CC) had a 4.84, while Jeff Posey (Montevallo) was at 5.90.
DeBacker had a 4.50 over four innings.
Five others had an ERA of 8.25 or higher, but three of those are gone now.
Grade: B-
Overall
The Locos have the talent to grab a fifth GLCL championship.
The keys will be getting timely hitting and consistent production from the bullpen.
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