GALION, Ohio — If Brody Basilone needs a reference for his baseball resume, Galion Graders manager Ray Neill will be among the first to offer up a glowing recommendation.
A hard-throwing right-hander from Lexington, Basilone worked three scoreless innings of relief as the Graders salvaged a split of a doubleheader against Lake Erie with a 2-1 win in the nightcap Thursday at Heddleson Field.
The playoff-bound Monarchs (20-15) blanked Galion (13-20) 6-0 in the opener.
A sophomore-to-be at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Basilone picked up his third save of the season and second in the past week. He gave up two hits and struck out two.
“Brody Basilone continues to be special,” Neill said. “I’ve got some friends in the coaching profession that I’m definitely going to be talking to. Somebody is going to get a nice arm.
“Being the (junior college) guy on the block and coming into a dugout half full with Division I guys, I don’t know if I would say it took him a while to find a comfort zone.”
In his last seven appearances, Basilone hasn’t given up an earned run. He has nine strikeouts and two walks while surrendering just five hits in 12 innings of work.
“I’ve always had confidence in myself, but I didn’t expect to do this,” Basilone said. “I try not to think too much when I get out there. I act like it’s a bullpen session and just let the defense work behind me.”
Defense: Basilone benefited from some nifty glove work by shortstop Kevin Shrock. The Berlin Hiland graduate and rising junior at the University of Findlay turned a sensational double play to short-circuit a Lake Erie scoring threat in the eighth.
With one out and a man at first, Lake Erie’s Luke DeVenney hit a soft liner back up the middle. Shrock ranged far to his left, made an acrobatic leaping grab in short center field then whirled and threw to first baseman Dylan Slack to force out Jacob Britt, who had strayed too far off the bag.
“That saved me. It took so much pressure off me,” Basilone said. “I knew it was going to be close, but Kevin is a great shortstop, so I knew he had a chance.”
Shrock also threw out a runner at third in the seventh and made a tough play on a short-hop grounder in the ninth.
“I got an in-between hop and bobbled it a little bit,” Shrock said. “Thankfully I got it with my bare hand and was able to throw the guy out.”
Shrock struggled both defensively and at the plate early in the season. In the last week, however, he is second on the team with a .348 batting average while being elevated to second in the order.
“Coming from a D2 school playing against a bunch of D1 guys, I was a little timid,” Shrock said. “I’m a lot more comfortable now because I know I can play at this level.”
Short-Handed: The Graders had only four pitchers available for the doubleheader. Galion recruited University of Tiffin pitcher Luke Fraley to start the first game. Fraley, who played for Neill at Sandusky Perkins, took the loss, giving up seven hits and four earned runs in three innings.
Galion also was without pitcher Will Ore and infielders J.T. Core and Mark Delas. Ore and Core have been shut down for the season, while Delas was out with a migraine.
“As the season winds down I appreciate the will to win,” Neill said. “Our guys are playing it out.
“After our struggle in the first game, I was proud of the way the guys came back in the second game.”
Good Teammate: Otterbein pitcher Justin Lewis hasn’t played all season because of injury, but the Shelby graduate hasn’t missed a game this summer.
“I appreciate him being a great teammate,” Neill said. “I was sitting on the bucket today and I told myself, ‘I’ve got to get him an at bat or something.’ He’s not going to get his inning up on the mound, but hopefully we can get him something, a pinch run or an at bat during the last weekend.”
“That saved me. It took so much pressure off me,” Brody Basilone said. “I knew it was going to be close, but Kevin (Shrock) is a great shortstop, so I knew he had a chance.”
