Urenovitch, Murphy Combine for Two-Hitter as Sluggers Blank Locos 4-0
LIMA, OH — One night after a tough opening loss, the Flag City Sluggers responded with a dominant pitching performance to defeat the Lima Locos 4-0 at Simmons Field on Saturday night.
Jackson Urenovitch and Aidan Murphy combined on a two-hit shutout, completely silencing the Locos' bats in front of 350 fans to earn Flag City (1-1) its first victory of the season.
Urenovitch (1-0) set the tone early for the Sluggers. The starter pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three. Though he ran into occasional traffic via three walks and three hit batters, Urenovitch routinely manufactured groundouts to escape any damage.
Lima starter Davis Harper matched Urenovitch early, striking out four and allowing three hits over four scoreless frames. The scoreless tie finally broke in the top of the fifth against Lima reliever Taylor Echols (0-1).
Jimmy LaForce drew a walk to start the inning, and Cameron Spezia followed with another free pass. With two runners on, Timothy Leark drove a single to break the ice, scoring LaForce. Miles Mitchell then followed with an RBI single of his own, extending the Sluggers' lead to 2-0.
Aidan Murphy took over for Urenovitch in the seventh inning and was flawless. Murphy threw three hitless innings to earn the save, striking out three batters and letting only two Locos reach base via a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
The Sluggers added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. LaForce singled and Spezia walked to start the threat. A sacrifice bunt by Brett Reed advanced the runners, and Mitchell delivered again, driving in Trenten Smith (running for LaForce) on a fielder's choice. An error by Lima pitcher Drew Ferguson allowed Spezia to score as well, pushing the final score to 4-0.
The final game of the series is Sunday in Lima with the first pitch scheduled for 5:05pm.
Key Statistics
Flag City Sluggers
Brett Reed (2B): 3-for-5, SAC
Miles Mitchell (3B): 1-for-5, 2 RBI
Timothy Leark (CF): 1-for-4, BB, RBI
Jackson Urenovitch (P): 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO (Win)
Aidan Murphy (P): 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO (Save)
Lima Locos
Tyler VanSumeren (CF): 2-for-4
Cameron Greene (SS): 0-for-3, BB, SB
Davis Harper (P): 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Drew Ferguson (P): 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
