By MARK RUSCHAU
Daily Standard
Correspondent
The Cincinnati Steam
came to Jim Hoess Field Tuesday night as one of the
hottest teams early in the 2007 Great Lakes
Collegiate League season, winners of three of their
first four games, and they left Celina just as hot.
The Steam took advantage of some wildness on the
part of Grand Lake Mariners pitching staff and a
nice outing by their own pitching corps to rout the
Mariners 17-2.
Grand Lake falls to
1-4 on the summer.
“We have been able to
get the big hit when we have to and our pitching has
kept us in every game this season,” commented Steam
coach, and ex-Cincinnati Red Ron Oester. “We were
able to come back from a five-run deficit the other
day and their pitchers gave up some walks and we
were able to get some hits and we were able to get
the same thing tonight.”
On the evening, a
trio of Cincinnati pitchers — Matt Winter, Darren
Sizemore and Robert Sabo — allowed the Mariners just
seven hits and two runs. Although they struck out
just six batters, the Steam was flawless in the
field as they did not commit an error and turned a
double play.
“We’ve been getting
real good pitching in the games we have played this
season,” said Oester. “Of course you have to take
into consideration that the kids are still getting
used to the wooden bats, but if you throw strikes
and make the plays behind them, it makes it a lot
easier for them.”
While the Steam
pitchers were in complete control of the Grand Lake
offense, the Mariners pitching staff was in trouble
from the get go and they struggled all night long.
Five Mariners pitchers allowed 17 runs on just 11
hits, eight of which were singles.
The Grand Lake
pitching staff had control problems, however, as
they walked seven batters, hi five batters and threw
four wild pitches.
“Our pitching is
absolutely a concern right now,” said Mariners coach
Scott French. “If you can't throw strikes you can
not pitch. Certainly you can win if you throw
strikes. I don't know how many batters we put on,
but you aren’t going to win the way we pitched
tonight.
“I think our pitching
struggles can be attributed to two factors,”
continued French. “Some of these guys have not
pitched in a month, so they are just getting their
arms back and getting their control back and I can
take that. What I will not take is any other excuse.
I am fine, for right now, just running them out
there, we did the same thing last year and we got
better. As long as things tighten up in the next
couple of day we will be okay because guys are just
getting their first or second outing but when they
come back to the mound the next time. I expect
things to get much better.”
The Steam roughed up
Mariners starter Creighton McCallum as Cincinnati
sent 12 men to the plate in the second inning,
scoring seven runs. In the inning, McCallum hit
three batters and walked three. The Mariners also
committed an error which led to two unearned runs
and Brandon Besl and Jason Cisper had the big blows
of the inning driving in two runs each with singles.
On the offensive
side, the Mariners were led by Mike Stalowy, Marc
Krauss and Derek Martin, as each had two hits.
Martin had the only two RBI on the night.
The Mariners are back
in action on Friday at Anderson University against
the Anderson Servants at 1 p.m. The next home game
for Grand Lake is a non-league affair Saturday at 7
p.m. against the Columbus Hawks.
