Patient Locos romp to 4th straight win

LANSING, Mich. – The Lemonade League’s Locos drew 12 walks, leading to three crooked innings, and coasted to an 11-3 win over the Lugnuts on Thursday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The Locos have won four straight games, taking a 7-6 lead in the overall series vs. the Lugnuts.

The Locos entered play having drawn 79 walks in the first 12 contests, an average of seven per game. Their plate discipline more than proved the difference on this night: four walks in a three-run third inning, keyed by a Kade Preston (CMU) two-run single; five walks and no hits in a three-run fifth inning, including bases-loaded walks drawn by Sean Haddlesey (Albion) and Garrett Lanker (Colorado School of Mines); and two more walks in a five-run sixth inning, with a two-run double from Lanker ripping the game wide open.

Of the nine-member starting lineup, only Preston did not draw a walk in the game, with Zach Heeke (Central Michigan) leading the way with three walks, a single, and two runs scored in four plate appearances. Heeke has walked 14 times in 12 games in the league, good for second behind teammate Brandon Scheurer (Saginaw Valley State), who walked for the 15th time.

The run support backed up the strong pitching efforts of Locos starter Ryan Abenth (Concordia), who tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Nick Powers (Michigan State) followed with two innings in his Lemonade League debut, allowing a run and striking out two. Brendan Bilkovic (Wayne State) handled a perfect sixth with a strikeout, and then Aaron Husson (Central Michigan) allowed two runs on a wild pitch and an Andrew Morrow (Michigan State) RBI single in the seventh – a play in which Logan Welch (SVSU) was caught in a rundown away from third and tagged out to end the game.

Among other individual efforts worth noting, Lanker finished 2-for-3 with a single, double, walk and three runs batted in; Michael Stygles (Oakland) walked twice, doubled and scored two runs in four trips; and Owen Ruddock (Davenport) went 1-for-2 with an RBI single, an HBP, a walk and two runs scored.

The game was played before a capacity crowd of 100 at Cooley Law School Stadium – a 13th straight sellout. (The stadium capacity is limited to 100 fans by health directive of Ingham County.)

The Lemonade League’s next game is on Friday at 7 p.m., with the Cedar Street gate opening to fans at 6 p.m. 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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