Staff Report
(From Thursday’s road win — ED.)
The Xenia Scouts used discipline at the plate to defeat the Hamilton Joes, 9-3, and keep their Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League championship hopes alive, Thursday at Foundation Field.
Xenia combined timely hits with several Hamilton walks to rally past the Joes.
GLSCL Most Valuable Player Ben Spitznagel clouted a lead-off solo home run over Foundation Field’s right field fence to give Hamilton a quick 1-0 lead, and Jackson Boyce followed that up with a single to center.
But Scouts starter Jorge Lozano limited Hamilton to seven hits through his eight innings of work.
Meanwhile, Xenia sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth inning with Evan McDonald, Colt Wolfe, Donald Ring and Ryan O’Hearn each coming home to score. Three Scouts batters drew walks, Adrian Marquez drove in one run, O’Hearn doubled to drive in two, and Aaron Valance collected a bases loaded walk to drive another run home in the inning.
Xenia took advantage of still more Hamilton walks in the fifth inning. McDonald led off the inning by getting hit with a pitch. He then moseyed to second when Wolfe drew a walk. Both runners advanced when O’Hearn drew another walk. McDonald then came home to score when Valance drew yet another RBI walk, to put Xenia out in front 5-1.
In the sixth, McDonald hit a deep fly ball to center field to score John Sharpe from third base with the Scouts’ sixth run of the night.
The Scouts then rubbed salt in the wound with three more runs in the eighth inning. Jeremy Barth, Wolfe and Ring each came home as Xenia reached base on two hits, two walks, one hit batter and one catcher’s interference call.
Hamilton managed two runs in the ninth before the Scouts, behind reliever Walter Rook IV, recorded the final out of the game.
With the win, Xenia evens up the best-of-3 playoff series with the Joes with one win apiece. That sets up the deciding Game 3, at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Xenia’s Grady’s Field on the Athletes In Action Sports Complex.
In the other GLSCL playoff game, Lima defeated Licking Valley to win that best-of-3 series two games to none. The Locos will await the winner of Friday’s Hamilton-Xenia game in the league championship series, which will begin Saturday in Lima.