GALION, Ohio — The most prolific offensive team in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League stormed into Heddleson Field on Tuesday and left a trail of carnage in its wake.
The Cincinnati Steam belted a pair of home runs among its 19 hits in a 12-6 win over the slumping Galion Graders.
The Steam (8-0) lead the 12-team GLSCL with a team batting average of .328. Cincinnati tops the league with eight homers, 34 extra base hits and a .897 OPS.
“They swung the bat really well from one to nine,” Graders manager Taylore Baker said. “They had guys who could get the bat through the zone and hit the gaps.
“We got away from challenging guys with our fastball. When you go away from your strengths … they can sit on certain pitches and hurt you.”
Nobody hurt the Graders (2-7) more than Cincinnati leadoff hitter Jake Richmond. The second baseman from Northern Kentucky University was 4 for 6 with a double, a home run and five runs batted in. Richmond’s three-run homer in the top of the fifth came after the Graders had cut Cincinnati’s lead to 7-5 with four runs in the home half of the fourth.
“The home run ball was a mistake after we put up four runs,” Baker said. “It’s a five-run game after that. As good as we have been as a pitching staff, we struggle to get that shut-down inning after we score a couple of runs.”
Rocky Outing: Galion starter Trent Downs, who celebrated his 21st birthday Tuesday, lasted just 1.2 innings. The right-hander gave up eight hits and surrendered five earned runs.
“(Downs) kind of had an injury to start off the game so then you have to go to the bullpen,” Baker said. “It’s not that we don’t have confidence in our guys in the bullpen, but from an offensive standpoint it just doesn’t seem like we’ve been able to get off to that fast start where we can be comfortable.
“We’ve had so many times where we’re down early and we put pressure on ourselves at the plate.”
Timely Hitting: The four-run fourth was Galion’s highest scoring inning of the season. The Graders collected six of their nine hits in the frame.
“We were able to string some hits together,” said second baseman and Lexington product Evan Lee, who had a hit during the outburst. “Guys are starting to get more comfortable.”
Daniel O’Keefe and Alex Laikos each had two hits for the Graders. Clear Fork graduate Ridge Winand, an outfielder at Ohio State, doubled.
“From an offensive standpoint, I thought we did a really good job of swinging the bat,” Baker said, “especially in counts that were in our favor.”
Back to Work: The Graders will try to snap their four-game slide Wednesday, again hosting the Steam.
“We have some guys, including myself, who haven’t played much this year,” Lee said. “We’re getting more comfortable. When we get it going, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
