Staff Report
With the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League season just beyond the halfway point, the Xenia Scouts find themselves within a game and a half of the South Division lead.
The Scouts (14-8) host the GLSCL South leading Cincinnati Steam (15-6) for a doubleheader today at the Athletes In Action Sports Complex’s Grady’s Field. Today’s doubleheader will be Xenia’s third and fourth games in two days.
Xenia played a doubleheader against the Irish Hills Leprechauns, a first-year team team based in Adrian, Mich., on Wednesday and won them both.
They won the first game in convincing fashion, and had to rally to take the second game.
The Scouts dominated the first game, winning 8-0, on a complete-game four-hitter thrown by Caleb Fernholz. The University of St. Thomas (Minn.) pitcher struckout three Leprechauns. Teammates Chandler Adkins and Evan McDonald both had big games at the plate, both going 3-for-4. Adkins collected his team leading 16th run batted in, while McDonald had five RBIs with a double and two-run home run. McDonald is second on the team with 14 RBI.
Adrian Marquez had a lead-off triple in the Scouts’ final at-bat of the second game, then scored on a wild pitch to tie things up at 2-all. Then in the top of the 10th inning, Xenia exploded for five runs to take the nightcap 7-2. Adkins drove in two more runs, and Colt Wolfe also knocked in two, for the win.
With the two wins, that pulled the Scouts within 1 1/2 games of the Steam and in a tie for second place in the division with the Hamilton Joes.
Cincinnati led its Wednesday game against the Grand Lake Mariners, 13-6 at presstime.
According to the GLSCL’s website, today’s first game is scheduled for a 4:35 p.m. start. Game two in what could be a key series in the division race will start approximately a half hour after the end of the first contest.
