Blake Bowen of the Lima Locos scores a run as the ball comes out of the glove of Michigan Monarchs Alonzo Paul earlier this season at Simmons Field.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — At this time last year, the Locos were preparing to capture their seventh Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Championship.
On July 19, 2023, Lima’s record sat at 23-7 after a 10-3 win over Jet Box. They went on to lose five of six games to end the regular season, but once the playoffs started, none of that mattered.
This year, with a record of 19-12 heading into Friday night, the Locos are hoping for a stronger finish to the regular season and a duplicate of last year’s playoff run.
The countdown to the playoffs started on Thursday night with a 6-1 win over the first-place Hamilton Joes (22-9) behind a strong start from the newly acquired Hunter Allen of Ashland University.
That makes four wins in a row for the Locos dating back to July 9 and six wins in their last seven games.
It’s arguably their best stretch of the season and it’s a pace they hope to continue in order to carry some positive momentum into the playoffs.
“We have to continue what we’ve been doing and stay hot,” said third baseman Blake Bowen. “We have a real shot at winning it. We definitely have the talent. A lot of it for us is just mental.”
If Lima can continue its winning streak through the weekend, they still have a chance to catch Hamilton for the top seed in the postseason.
A sweep would put the Locos one game back of the Joes in the standings. At the very worst, the goal is to hold off Muskegon (18-13) who trails Lima by one game in the race for second place.
After the series against Hamilton, the Locos conclude the regular season with three very winnable games against last-place Grand Lake, the final two of which take place at Simmons Field.
Winning each of the last two series and locking down one of the top two spots would guarantee home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“We want to finish in at least second place. That gives us two home games if we need it in the first round and we play pretty well there,” said pitcher Drew Kirby. “If we can stay consistent with the bats in all three games of a series, I have no doubt that our pitching staff will hold up.”
The numbers reflect Kirby’s statement.
In Lima’s 19 wins this summer, they’ve averaged over eight runs per game. In 12 losses, that number drops to just under four. When the Locos score at least six runs, they’re 15-2.
Bowen, who continues to anchor the lineup in the three-hole, picked up right where he left off before the All-Star break with two hits on Thursday night. He now leads the league in batting average at .388 and is tied for first in runs batted in with Noah Ruiz (Xenia Scouts) at 29.
He’s one of six regulars in the lineup hitting at least.280 along with Justin Gorski (.288), Sebastian Alexander (.286), Kaden Brown (.293), Liam Richards (.325) and Landon Tate (.286).
“It’s been great growing with these guys and seeing them succeed at a high level,” Bowen said. “Hopefully, we can keep doing that for the rest of the season. I didn’t even know any of these guys before this summer and now I look at them like brothers.”
The closeness of the team was a common theme when players were faced with the question of what makes the difference in the postseason. It may also be the reason the Locos seem to playing their best baseball at the right time of the year.
“We have a tight group. It’s been that way since the first day I got here and that’s getting us to where we want to be on the field,” said middle infielder Lou Fujiwara. “We just have to have fun and if we’re doing that, we’ll play well. That’s all we need to do the rest of the way.”
The Locos also seem set with their postseason rotation consisting mainly of Matteo Pare, Drew Kirby and Thomas Howard, their three GLSCL All-Star starting pitchers.
The trio has combined for eight wins and 71 strikeouts compared to 29 walks.
Chase Jarnigan has added four wins in 25 2/3 innings in a hybrid role and the Locos have also received solid innings out of the pen from players like Griffin Howe (2.59 ERA in 17 1/3 innings), Skyler Lhamon (3 ER in last 10 innings) and Carter Parks (2 saves, 3.00 ERA in 15 innings) after the exits of Luke Geske, Cody Soliday and Christian Pownall.
“I like where we’re at. As of right now we’re in the playoffs and our pitching staff is coming together,” said Locos coach Chad Ehrnsberger prior to the All-Star break. “We’re already setting up the order in which we’re going to use guys. It all just comes down to playing good baseball in this final stretch.”
With some hot bats and consistent pitching, no one in the Locos dugout is ruling out a chance at repeating as Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Champions.
“When you get in the playoffs, anything can happen,” said Ehrnsberger.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
