Cincinnati Steam

Lima Shuts Down Steam in DH Sweep

WESTERN HILLS, Ohio—The Steam were shut out at home for the first time ever Thursday night, falling 9-0 to the Lima Locos at Western Hills High School in game one of a doubleheader. Cincinnati (9-5) had won five in a row and nine of the past ten (tying for the most wins in a ten-game stretch in team history), but ran into another hot team in the Locos (12-3), who have now won five straight and seven of their last eight.

Mike Jefferson (Louisiana Tech) shouldered the loss in his first bad outing of the season. Jefferson (1-1) suffered from the control problems that plagued him during the college season, walking three batters and throwing 79 pitches in 3.0 innings of work (Jefferson walked 38 in 51.2 innings for Louisiana Tech). He struck out five to increase his league-leading total to 21, but gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits.

Mike Peterson (DePauw) relieved Jefferson but did not fare any better, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4.0 innings. Jefferson and Peterson each yielded multiple runs in an outing for the first time this season. Peterson saw his ERA climb to 4.76 from 2.45.

Derek Varnadore (Chattahoochee Valley) tossed 4.0 shutout innings for the win, yielding just two hits. Varnadore (2-0) struck out five, walked three, and left six Steam runners on base. He has now struck out a combined 107 batters this season between college and summer ball. Brad Long (Kennesaw State) worked the final 3.0 innings for his first save.

The Steam recorded just four hits in the game, all singles. Travis Shaw (Kent State) went 1-for-2 with a walk and has now hit in four straight after an 0-for-12 stretch, but Jon Edgington (Miami) had his seven-game hitting streak snapped (the longest streak by a Steam player this season). Ryan Strausborger (Indiana State) singled and is now hitting .405 (17-for-42) in his last ten games after starting the season 1-for-11.

Tristan Moore (Wright State) had a perfect day at the plate for the Locos, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored. Anthony Toth (Michigan) went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored, and Chris Sosebee (Montevallo) notched his first two hits of the season in his 30^th and 31^st plate appearances.

Lima jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, benefiting from two walks and an error by Jefferson. J.D. Ashbrook (Morehead State) walked with one out and Moore followed with a long double off the wall in right-center to put runners on second and third. Jefferson then walked Troy Snitker (North Georgia) to load the bases. Ryan Bridges (Purdue) stepped to the plate and hit a long fly ball that Edgington corralled on the warning track in left for a sacrifice fly, with Moore advancing to third. Lima then caught a break when Jefferson had Snitker picked off at first but bounced his throw past Ben Thomas (Xavier), allowing Moore to trot home with the second run for the Locos.

Varnadore also struggled with control in the first, walking Strausborger on four pitches to begin the inning and hitting Edgington with an 0-1 pitch. Brad Gschwind (Miami) moved Strausborger to third with a fielder’s choice, but Varnadore escaped damage by striking out Thomas looking on a fastball and inducing Bobby Freking (Xavier) to ground out to end the inning.

The Steam wasted another opportunity in the second inning, leaving the bases loaded. Varnadore walked Drew Schmidt (Xavier) and Shaw to begin the frame, and one out later, Trace Voshell (Ohio) hit a ground ball single through the right side to load the bases. Varnadore worked his magic again, striking out Strausborger after falling behind 3-1 and retiring Edgington on a ground ball. Varnadore threw 13 balls in the inning, including eight in a row at one point, yet still emerged unscathed.

The Locos stretched their lead to 4-0 in the third inning, cashing in on another Jefferson walk. Moore drew a base on balls with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a double in the right-center field gap by Snitker. Bridges followed with a single to put runners on the corners with one out. Jefferson struck out Matt Baca (Alabama) for the second out, but Lima scored another run on a pickoff throw when Thomas lost the ball trying to tag out Bridges at first.

Lima added two more runs in the fourth inning to make the score 6-0 on three consecutive two-out hits off of Peterson, including a triple over the head of Strausborger in center by Ashbrook.

Despite the offensive outburst, the Lima players may have cheered the loudest when Sosebee notched his first hit of the year in the fifth inning. Sosebee was 0-for-22 on the season entering the at bat. After the Locos loaded the bases with one out in the inning, Peterson dodged a bullet by catching one, as he snagged Eric Charles’ (Purdue) line drive and doubled off the runner at third to end the threat.

The Locos pounced on Peterson again in the sixth inning, crossing the plate three times to round out the scoring. Moore drove home Toth and Ashbrook with a single with nobody out and advanced to second on the throw. Snitker followed with a popup down the right field line that Thomas caught in foul territory, but his throw to third eluded Tim Issler (Ball State) for his second error of the game, allowing Moore to score.

Game Two (9 innings)

Lima continued its dominant pitching in game two, holding the Steam (9-6) to six hits and a run in a 5-1 win. Lima hitters recorded four doubles in the game and nine in the doubleheader. The Locos (13-3) have now allowed just four runs during their current six-game winning streak for a team ERA of 0.72.

Reece Asbury (Miami) started and took the loss for the Steam, giving up his first runs of the year in the process. He worked 5.0 innings, allowing nine hits and five earned runs. Asbury (1-1) did manage to better his sensational strikeout-to-walk ratio by striking out four without a walk. He has now struck out 11 and walked two on the year and has a 7.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio for his career (31 strikeouts, four walks).

Ryan Martin (Michigan State) continued his strikeout prowess in relief, striking out a career-high seven in 4.0 innings (including the side in the seventh inning). Martin has now struck out 15 of the 34 batters he has faced over his last three outings and has 16 strikeouts on the year in 10.0 innings of work.

Chris Rearick (Berry College) tossed 5.0 scoreless innings for the victory, allowing just three hits. Rearick (1-1) struck out four and walked one. After yielding a run in the first, he retired the side in order in each of the next four innings.

Bridges led the Locos on offense, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in. Toth had two more hits in game two, including his third double of the day.

Schmidt, Edgington, and Strausborger recorded the only hits of the game for the Steam. Schmidt notched three hits in four at bats, Edgington went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, and Strausborger singled and scored his GLSCL-leading 19^th run of the season.

Lima scored twice in the first inning again in the second game. Toth led off with a single up the middle, and Kent Myer (Alabama) doubled into the right field corner to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Asbury got Moore to ground back to the mound and then hit Snitker to load the bags with one out. Thomas Carroll (Mercer) hit a ground ball to Strausborger at shortstop (his first start at shortstop since June 14), who booted the ball for an error, although it was unlikely he would have been able to start a double play. Toth scored the first run of the game on the play, and the bases were still loaded. Bridges followed with an infield single to plate Myer, but Asbury escaped further damage by inducing Daniel Jones (Marietta College) to ground into the unconventional 3-2-3 double play.

Cincinnati scored its first run of the day in the bottom of the first inning. Strausborger led off with a single up the middle, and Edgington followed with a single of his own to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Thomas drove home Strausborger with his third sacrifice fly of the year to cut the Lima lead to one at 2-1.

The double play began a string of eight straight batters retired by Asbury, ending on a seeing-eye single by Bridges with one out in the fourth. The hit quickly led to a run, however, as Jones followed with a triple that deflected off the glove of a diving T.J. Jones (Cincinnati) just inches inside the right field line. T.J. Daugherty (Kentucky) then smacked a single back through the box to plate Jones and give the Locos a 4-1 cushion.

The Locos played add-on in the fifth, plating a run to extend their lead to 5-1. Bridges hit a two-out double that landed just inside the left field line to plate Moore, who had reached on an infield single to begin the frame.

Gschwind received the night off after starting 12 consecutive games at shortstop for the Steam.

The Steam play their third and fourth games in two days on Friday when they travel to Adrian College in Michigan to take on the Lake Erie Monarchs. Ian Kadish (2-1, 2.45 ERA) will take the mound in game one, with Ben Thomas (1-0, 11.81 ERA) to follow in the nightcap. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Cincinnati returns to Western Hills High School on Thursday, July 9 for their third try at a win against the Grand Lake Mariners in a 7:05 matchup.