Jun. 11—The Locos managed to split a doubleheader on Sunday with Muskegon to avoid a sweep for the second time in two series, finishing a six-game stretch to open the season with a record of 2-4.
With an odd number of teams in the Great Lakes College League this summer, the Locos are in the midst of four straight off-days, resuming play on Friday on the road against South Ohio for two games before returning to Simmons field on Sunday.
While there's a break in the action, let's take a look at seven Lima Locos who are off to a hot start.
3B Blake Bowen (University of Kentucky)
Bowen has been the Locos' main source of offense in the early going.
He's batted out of the three-hole in all six games, and he's driven in six runs, good for the second-best total in the GLCL.
In Lima's 12-3 win over Michigan on June 6, the redshirt freshman from Wooster, Ohio got on base three times, drove in three runs and scored once.
Bowen has recorded a hit in every game aside from the season opener, and he has three two-hit games thus far. He's batting .333 on the season (8 for 24) with five walks and five strikeouts.
RHP Matteo Pare (Pensacola State College)
Through a pair of starts, Pare has performed like the ace of the staff, and at 6-4, 220, he looks every bit the part of a front half of the rotation arm.
In nine innings on the mound, Pare has yielded just a pair of earned runs, both of those in the third inning of the Locos' season-opening loss to Michigan.
Pare got a no-decision in that game despite exiting with a 7-2 lead after a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
Five days later he made his second start and threw five shutout innings in Lima's 2-0 win over Muskegon. He held the Clippers to a pair of hits in his first win of the year, bringing his record to 1-0 with a 2.00 earned run average on the young season.
His control has also been strong with seven strikeouts compared to just one walk.
2B Justin Gorski (Miami University)
Gorski's offensive numbers aren't overwhelming, but one outstanding thing about the Locos' leadoff man is his eye at the plate.
He has five hits in six starts, putting his batting average at .250, but he's drawn eight walks, meaning he's gotten on base 42% of the time.
Gorski has had a big hand in the Locos scoring nine first-inning runs so far this summer, and if he can cut down on strikeouts (8), his team stands to improve on its current pace of six runs per game.
LHP Ryan Yingst (Tiffin University)
There's a lot more to Yingst's story than numbers on the field.
After missing each of his first two spring seasons at Tiffin due to rotator cuff surgery, the Lima native made his return to competitive baseball on June 7 against Muskegon in relief with the Locos down 7-2.
It seemed like mop-up duty with Lima down five, but Yingst made the most of the situation, going 5 2/3 hitless innings in the longest outing by any Locos pitcher this year.
Aside from the eighth inning where he allowed one run due to three walks and a hit batter, Yingst was in control, which is a great sign of things to come for the hometown kid.
1B Kaden Brown (Kennesaw State University)
Brown has started five of the Locos' six games so far, and he's reached base safely twice with one hit and one walk in each of his appearances.
The cleanup hitter and native of Fairburn, Georgia stands at 6-3, 240 in the box and he displayed some power against Muskegon with a two-run shot to dead centerfield in the first inning of an 8-3 loss last Friday.
That big swing has also caused him to strike out eight times, but he entered the four-day break with a .263 batting average and five runs batted in, good for second on the team behind Blake Bowen.
RHP Cody Soliday (Mercer University)
Soliday is another arm that's only entered one game, but he earned the Locos' first win of the season on June 6 against Michigan.
The righthander out of Ashburn, Georgia went 4 1/3 innings, holding the Monarchs to one unearned run on no hits. He also struck out four batters and walked two.
Soliday also commanded the strike zone well, throwing 41 of his 66 pitches for strikes.
RF Jaxin Settlemires (University of Memphis)
Settlemires was placed on the inactive list before the Locos traveled to Muskegon but in the opening series against Michigan, he went 5 for 13, drove in three runs and walked twice.
On opening day, Settlemires went 2 for 3, drove in two runs and drew a walk in the loss.
If Settlemires can return to the lineup, he'll provide some much-needed punch for a team that's stranded 67 runners on the base paths.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
