GALION, Ohio — Galion’s postseason dreams may have been officially extinguished Sunday night, but Graders manager Ray Neill wasn’t feeling sorry for the first-year franchise after a 14-7 loss to playoff-bound Xenia at Heddleson Field.
“We went into tonight with still a chance to be a playoff team,” Neill said. “We went to the second-to-last day of the regular season with a chance.”
Galion (14-22) will conclude it’s inaugural season in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League at 2 p.m. Monday against Grand Lake. Even though the Graders missed out on the six-team playoff, Neill was impressed by his team’s resilience. Galion was 4-13 on July 1, but has gone 10-9 since then.
“We’re still having fun,” Neill said. “These guys have been going at it.”
Long Ball: Galion fell behind 3-0 in the top of the third but scored a pair of runs in the home half of the inning when Nick Riotto turned on a 2-2 offering from Xenia starter Will Kruse for a two-run home run. It was Riotto’s first homer of the season.
“I don’t hit many of them,” said Riotto, Galion’s leadoff hitter and a rising junior at Penn State.
Still Scrapping: Galion scored four runs in the fourth for a 6-3 lead. Riotto, Tyler Ocker and Mark Delas drove in runs in the frame.
“We got down tonight and we came back again tonight,” Neill said. “We battled back and had it get away from us late.”
Taking Control: Xenia pulled even with three runs in the fifth and added three in the sixth. The Scouts put it away with four runs in the top of the ninth.
“After the top of the ninth I don’t know if the dugout still thought we could get this,” Neill said. “If it was only a two or three run deficit, we’ve done that in the last week.”
Leaders: Riotto had two hits and drove in three runs, while Austin Adams was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Ocker and Mark Walton each had two hits and drove in a run.
