By Jim Radke
jradke@wbcowqel.com
Strong pitching and timely hitting led the Galion Graders to a 6-3 win over the Richmond Jazz Wednesday night as the two teams split their two-game Great Lake Summer College League series.
The Graders’ Jonathon Murphy pitched six solid innings allowing two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts to even his record at 1-1. Murphy worked out of a bases loaded, no outs jam in the second inning and a two-on, nobody out jam in the third. A.J. Cecil came on in the seventh to pick up his second save of the year.
Trailing 2-0, Galion scored three times in the second to take the lead and never trail again. Ridge Winand led off the inning with a walk and stole second. He advanced to third on a fly out to right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Schrock.
With two outs, Riley Campbell singled and came home on a two-run homer by Alex Laikos.
The Graders added a single run in the sixth to take a two-run lead only to see the Jazz score a run in the top of the seventh to again cut the lead to one. In the bottom of the seventh, Galion’s Laikos singled and, with two outs, Reilly Hawkins hit a two-run homer over the right field fence.
The Graders will be off until Saturday when they travel to Lorain to face the Ironmen.