GALION, Ohio — Lima starter Connor Curlis didn’t need a lot of help Monday evening, but his teammates didn’t leave anything to chance.
A hard-throwing left-hander from Ohio State, Curlis struck out seven and the Locos banged out seven extra-base hits in an 11-2 win over the Galion Graders in Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League action at Heddleson Field.
How overwhelming was Curlis?
Of his 103 pitches, 71 went for strikes. He scattered seven hits — all singles — and allowed two unearned runs to improve to 3-0. He ranks third in the GLSCL with a 0.89 earned run average.
“He threw a good game,” Galion manager Taylore Baker said. “I think that is three straight games that we have had complete games thrown against us. We’re not getting guys out of the game and they are getting into a rhythm and getting comfortable.”
Heavy Lumber: The Locos (11-3), who lead the league with a .404 on base percentage and boast a team batting average of .310, roughed up four Galion pitchers. Logan Quimuyog and Jacob Bardwell each stroked a pair of doubles, while Jared Nixon and Ross Adolph each belted home runs.
“They took advantage of pretty much all of our mistakes tonight,” Baker said. “You get behind and (get into) fastball counts and they don’t miss fastballs.”
Nixon turned on a 2-0 offering from Galion starter Jonathon Murphy for a three-run homer in the fourth, breaking a 1-1 tie and giving the Locos the lead for good. Galion cut it to 4-2 in the fifth before Lima blew it open with four runs in the sixth.
Miscues: Galion committed two errors, but what had Baker scratching his head were a couple of base-running blunders that short-circuited potential big innings. The Graders took a 1-0 lead in the second when Evan Lee singled and eventually scored on an error. Galion had runners at second and third with one out but the rally withered when Lima shortstop David Chabut gunned down Kevin Schrock at the plate for the second out of the inning on a ground ball off the bat of Riley Campbell.
“It’s hard to be competitive when (you make) mistakes to take you out of innings,” Baker said. “When you’re only putting up two runs a game, those kind of stick out in your head.
“We have a one-run lead and we have a chance to add two more runs and you don’t.”
No Rest: Galion (4-11), which slipped 7.5 games behind North Division-leading Lima, plays five of its next six games on the road before getting a day off next Monday. The Graders are in the midst of a rugged stretch in which they play 19 games in 20 days.
“We can’t use it as an excuse,” Baker said. “When you look at Lima, they are playing 30 days in a row.”
