By Eli Halverson | June 27, 2025

Following a blowout game one victory against the rival Scouts, the Joes hit the road to Xenia, looking to win game two and take over first place in the division.

This one began as a high-level pitcher’s duel. Starting for the Joes was Charles Dieruf, and he did not disappoint. Dieruf came into the night with just a little over six innings pitched on the season, but he delivered his best outing yet — and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Dieruf threw seven innings, allowing just one hit and one earned run while striking out an impressive 11 batters. A truly stellar performance — but unfortunately, the Joes’ bats took a while to get going.

Down 1-0 in the top of the third, the Joes loaded the bases with nobody out after a single, a walk, and an error from the Scouts. However, only one run would come across on a passed ball, as the next three Joes hitters went down on strikes. Still, the game was tied 1-1 through three.

It stayed that way for a while, as Scouts pitcher Oliver Adams was dealing as well. Adams gave up just two runs on two hits over six innings and had the Joes guessing for most of the night. But Miguel Correa would come through yet again in the sixth, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly to give the Joes a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh.

A Travis Yankovich sac fly in the top of the eighth pushed the lead to 3-1 — but that’s where things started to unravel.

In the bottom of the eighth, two singles and a pair of costly mistakes doomed Hamilton. A throwing error from the pitcher and a passed ball just a few batters later allowed the Scouts to plate two runs, tying the game at 3-3 heading into the ninth.

However, the Joes continued to battle. After a walk and a single to open the ninth, Yankovich stepped up and delivered one of the biggest swings of the night, ripping a two-run single to give Hamilton a 5-3 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.

But heartbreak struck once again. The wheels completely fell off in the bottom half as three of the first four Scouts batters drew walks. A hit-by-pitch followed, then two more walks — and just like that, the game was over. Despite not allowing a single hit in the final inning, the Joes’ bullpen couldn’t find the strike zone, walking in all three runs and suffering a crushing 6-5 loss.

Unfortunately, the heartbreak of close losses has once again struck the Joes. Hamilton is now 0-4 in games decided by two runs or fewer, and you can’t help but feel like this is the worst one of all. They had the game in their hands multiple times but ultimately let it slip away — which makes tomorrow all the more important for the Joes.

Hamilton will try to regroup and take the series Sunday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM.