Walk on the Wild Side

LANSING, Mich. – Trailing 6-0 and appearing on their way to a fifth straight loss, the Lemonade League’s Locos kept their patience and authored a stunning turnaround, drawing 15 walks en route to a 15-11 victory on Friday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The game featured a ten-run inning, a six-run inning, a five-run inning and a four-run inning, with the two teams totaling 42 base runners in six innings – 21 total walks, 15 this, four hit-batsmen and two errors.

The Lugnuts had won each of the last two nights by identical 11-4 scores and appeared on their way to another win after chasing Locos starter Christopher Schmees (Saginaw Valley State) with six runs in the second inning, keyed by a Colin Cornwell (SVSU) two-run single.

Derek Slocum had blanked the Locos for the first three innings, but then strike-zone command betrayed him and his ballclub in a fateful fourth. With one out, Slocum walked three straight Locos to load the bases, departing after 3 1/3 hitless innings in favor of Luke LaLumia (Davenport). Of the ten batters LaLumia faced, he walked five of them, including three bases-loaded walks. Adam Purdy (Concordia) and Ben Compton (Olivet) added RBI singles in what became a monstrous ten-run rally, giving the Locos a 10-6 lead.

The Lugnuts came right back with four runs to tie the score in the fifth inning, with Vann Acker (Concordia) smashing a two-run single and Cornwell adding another RBI single.

But the Locos were not to be deterred in the bottom of the fifth, aided by their batting eye. New reliever Jason Clark (SVSU) walked three batters, hit a batter, and gave up a two-run single to Compton and an RBI single to Garrett Lanker (Colorado School of Mines) in a five-run rally, putting the Locos ahead, 15-10.

In the sixth and final inning, with the game shortened by Director of Baseball Chad Roskelly, Zaid Walker (MSU) singled, stole second base, was wild-pitched to third and then wild-pitched home before Aaron Husson (CMU) recorded the game’s final outs.

The Locos improved their record to 3-5 against the Lugnuts overall.

Among the individual efforts: Compton was 2-for-2 with two singles, two walks, three runs batted in, a run scored and a steal; Cornwell finished 3-for-4 with three singles, a run scored, two runs batted in and two stolen bases; Mark Connelly (LCC) went 2-for-3 with a run scored, walk, RBI and steal; and Sean Haddlesey (Albion), Zach Heeke (CMU) and Brandon Scheurer (SVSU) each drew three walks, with Haddlesey and Heeke each coaxing a pair of bases-loaded walks.

The next Lemonade League game will be played on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cooley Law School Stadium, with the Cedar Street gate opening at 6 p.m., the fourth of five consecutive days of Lemonade League baseball. Masks are mandatory for admission.

The Lemonade League is a college wood-bat league featuring Minor League Baseball umpires, yellow baseballs, seven-inning games, and extra innings replaced by a one-on-one Home Run Derby – although none was needed on this night. Every Lemonade League game is livestreamed FREE across multiple social and digital platforms, including the Lansing Lugnuts’ Facebook and Twitter pages.

For more information, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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