Liam Richards of the Lima Locos slides under the tag attempt of Grand Lake’s Ryan Uhlenhake during Saturday’s game at Simmons Field.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA – For the second consecutive night, the Lima Locos had Grand Lake’s number on the diamond.
Lima (12-8) tallied four runs in the second inning and never looked back in its 14-1 run-rule victory over the Mariners at Simmons Field on Saturday.
Ryan Uhlenhake (transfer portal) got the start for Grand Lake (5-15), and following a 1-2-3 first inning, he struggled to find the strike zone. Uhlenhake walked three batters, and all of them scored in the second inning.
When Justin Gorski (Miami University) singled to score a fourth run, the route was officially on.
“We have the talent, and it feels like we’re playing up to our abilities right now,” said Locos coach Chad Ehrnsberger. “The guys are relaxed and falling into their roles and we’ve been playing a lot better.”
Similar to Friday evening, the Locos received a dominant pitching performance from their starting pitcher.
Chase Jarnigan (College of Charleston) shut down the Mariners and didn’t allow an earned run. The lefty continued a dominant trend for the Locos, who’ve sat down Grand Lake hitters in order in seven of the 18 innings in the series.
Jarnigan threw 63 pitches on the evening, going six innings and limiting the damage to just five hits.
“I tried to focus on throwing strikes and placing my pitches well, and I did a good job of that tonight,” said Jarnigan. “Similar to last night, our defense was awesome. I’m not a real big strikeout pitcher, I just throw pitches that create weak contact and let the defense make plays behind me.”
The only Grand Lake run that crossed the plate on Saturday was courtesy of an error that allowed Cameron Bryant (transfer portal) to come home in the sixth inning.
Pitching continued to be an issue for the Mariners after Uhlenhake exited and Lima capitalized in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.
The Locos sent 24 batters to the plate in the final three innings while only producing six hits.
Gorski finished the game with three runs batted in and a pair of hits. Sebastian Alexander (Coastal Carolina) added a bases-clearing triple and four RBI on the night.
“Justin (Gorski) has the talent. His first game at Kent State he started and batted lead-off as a true freshman,” said Ehrnsberger. “I think sometimes he presses a little but if he can relax and just play ball he can be dominant.”
The two teams will wrap up the three-game series on Sunday evening in Celina. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Box score (r-h-e)
Grand Lake Mariners 0000010 1-6-3
Lima Locos 041234x 14-9-1
Grand Lake Mariners 1 (ab-r-h-rbi)
Cameron Bryant 3-1-1-0, Andrew Kell 3-0-1-0, Jackson Taylor 3-0-0-0, TJ Takats 3-0-1-0, Edwin Bowman IV 3-0-0-0, Jackson Rains 2-0-1-0, Austyn Peak 3-0-1-0, Drew Emerson 3-0-0-0, Parker Redden 2-0-1-0, Totals: 25-1-6-0.
Lima Locos 14 (ab-r-h-rbi)
Justin Gorski 5-1-2-4, Lou Fujiwara 2-0-0-0, Caden Lockwood 1-1-1-2, Sebastian Alexander 3-1-1-4, Kaden Brown 3-1-0-1, Brooks Wright 4-0-1-0, Landon Tate 3-1-0-1, Brice Estep 0-2-0-0, Andrew Stechschulte 2-1-1-0, Bo Shinkle 1-3-0-1, Totals: 28-24-9-13
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so)
W — Chase Jarnigan (3-1) 6.0-5-1-0-0-2
L — Ryan Uhlenhake (1-3) 3.0-3-5-5-4-2
Nate Stidham wrote this story for LimaScores.com
