LIMA – The Great Lakes Collegiate League opened the door this year to have a recent high school grad on a roster.
The Lima Locos signed LSU-signee first baseman Cade Beloso, who was recently named the Gatorade state player of the year in Louisiana.
Beloso went 4 for 5, with a two-run home run, to power the Orange to a 10-4 victory over the Blue squad in the Locos scrimmage Monday at Simmons Field.
The Blue team had 19 hits on the day, while Orange team had four.
Beloso had four RBI on the day. He hit .489 with 14 home runs at New Orleans John Curtis High School, in helping his team to the Division I state title.
“Beloso, I don’t think he’s going to have any problem adjusting to college-level pitching,” Locos coach Jared Gaynor said. “He was terrific tonight. He seemed very relaxed.’’
For the Orange team, second baseman Justin Wiley (Alabama-Birmingham) went 4 for 6.
“He’s (Wiley) going to be that sparkplug-type guy,” Gaynor said. “He brings a lot of energy, speed and he’s fun to watch.’’
Shortstop Michael Diffley (Arizona Christian) was 3 for 5 with an RBI.
The University of Northwestern Ohio’s Miz Fuentes went 3 for 6 with a double and two RBI.
The Locos broke their roster into an Orange team and a Blue squad. Five players from the UNOH were sprinkled on the teams to fill out the positions.
Brad Croy (Bowling Green/Ottawa-Glandorf) started for the Blue squad. He went three innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits. He struck out two and walked one.
“I thought Croy did a nice job tonight,” Gaynor said. “He worked out of a little bit of trouble.’’
Jordan Marks (South Carolina/Upstate) came on next and went two innings. He gave up one run on five hits. He struck out two.
Tyler Miller (Texas A&M/Corpus Christi) started for the Orange squad. He threw three shutout innings, giving up one hit. He struck out four and walked three.
According to the radar gun, Miller was throwing 91 mph.
“Miller, I’m excited to watch him throw this season,” Gaynor said. “He’ll be in the low 90s consistently.’’
The Orange team took a 2-0 lead with a run in the first and one in the second.
In the first, Mark Castelblanco (Clarendon) walked and Beloso (LSU) singled. Christian Waltman (Alabama-Birmingham) delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0.
In the second, Wiley (Alabama-Birmingham singled, took third on an error and came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
The Orange made it 3-0 in the fifth on an RBI single by UNOH’s Jason Reyes.
The Blue scored two in the fifth to get within 3-2. Both runs came via wild pitches with the bases loaded.
The Orange made it 5-2 in the sixth. Diffley singled and Beloso unloaded a monster-shot, two-run home run to right field.
Tyler Simon’s (Kennesaw State) had an RBI single to center in the sixth to bring the Blue within 5-3.
A few of the pitchers were a little rusty, but overall, Gaynor liked he saw from the seven Locos’ pitchers on both teams that saw action.
“Command is going to be the first thing they struggle with if they haven’t been on the mound in a while,” Gaynor said. “But, overall, they did a good job. All the guys had pretty good stuff. Command is something we can work on and go from there. But pure stuff-wise, I thought all of them can really pitch.’’
Locos notes: The Locos final scrimmage is 7 p.m. tonight at Simmons Field. The Locos open play in the Great Lakes Collegiate League at 7 p.m. Saturday at Irish Hills’ Albion College (Mich.). … The Locos’ home opener is 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14, against Grand Lake at Simmons Field.
Locos center fielder Mark Castelblanco (Clarendon College, Texas) was named all-region and was the conference player of the year.
Castelblanco was 10th in the nation in hitting (.454), third in the nation in home runs (25) and second in RBI (93). He also stole 20 bases and had an on-base percentage of .550.
With construction going on behind Simmons Field, parking is limited and fans are urged to get to games early. A shuttle service will run from the Collett Street area.
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