GALION, Ohio — If Galion manager Ray Neill had any concerns about his team’s mental constitution, they were put to rest during Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Lima Locos at Heddleson Field.
The Graders trailed 5-0 before most of the announced crowd of 247 had found their seats, but had the potential game-tying run at second with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
A game-ending double play short-circuited the rally, but the grit the Graders (4-8) showed gave Neill reason for optimism.
“I thought we were a team that was a little down after a three-day break and didn’t come back ready to play,” Neill said. “We were down 5-0 and looking at starting to feel sorry for ourselves, but that didn’t happen.”
Digging a Hole: Lima (8-5) got to Galion starter Matt Sullivan for two runs in the top of the first and three more in the second. Only one of the five runs was earned, however, as the Graders committed three of their five errors in the first two frames.
“Early on, we didn’t help Matt Sullivan a whole lot defensively,” Neill said. “An extra run here or there that we gave them early with a couple defensive lapses came back and bit us in the rear end.”
Comeback: The Graders got on the board in the third when Nick Riotto singled with two out, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on Colton Carney’s base hit and scored on a J.T. Core single. Riotto was 4-for-4 from the leadoff spot, while Core had three hits and drove in two runs.
“It’s awesome having Nick at the top of the lineup,” Core said. “Now that he’s back, he’s been amazing up there.”
Galion scored another run in the home half of the fourth, but the damage could have been worse. The Graders loaded the bases with nobody out, but Tyler Ocker banged into a double play, allowing Jake Krupar to score, and a strikeout ended the threat.
“We nickeled ourselves back into the game, but we just couldn’t get the crooked number,” Neill said. “We just couldn’t get the big hit. In every inning we scored one and we still had a chance to get something out of it, but we just weren’t able to get that one big one.”
Galion cut Lima’s lead to 5-3 in the seventh when Riotto laced a one-out double and scored on Core’s two-out single.
“I’m just trying to keep my hands inside the baseball,” Core said. “I was struggling for a while and getting back to that usually produces pretty good results.”
The Graders gave themselves a chance to win in the ninth and Riotto was again the catalyst. The center fielder from Penn State doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third when Core’s sharp grounder to short was misplayed for an error. Riotto scored and Core moved to second on a Mark Delas single with one out, but Jake Krupar hit into a game-ending double play.
Relief Work: Galion stayed within striking distance thanks to an outstanding performance by the bullpen. Nick Muse, Josh Peterson and Ben Hamilton combined for five innings of hitless relief.
“Our bullpen did a great job for us,” Neill said. “They were outstanding.”
“We nickeled ourselves back into the game, but we just couldn’t get the crooked number,” Ray Neill said. “We just couldn’t get the big hit
