By Eli Halverson | July 1, 2025

As we officially turn the calendar from June to July, the second half of the 2025 GLSCL season kicks off. The Joes began a critical division series against the Grand Lake Mariners, looking to gain ground on the first-place Xenia Scouts.

Jordan Taylor took the mound for Hamilton, and his defense immediately made its presence felt. After a leadoff walk, a foul popup fell into an awkward spot between third and left field, but Miguel Correa made an incredible running catch to record the first out. The next batter hit a soft liner into shallow right, where Brett Denby laid out for one of the best catches you’ll ever see. Not only did he secure the catch, but the runner had taken off, and Denby flipped it to first for a double play to end the inning—setting the tone early.

The momentum carried into the bottom half. Christopher Roa continued his hot streak with a leadoff base hit into left that he stretched into a double with some trademark Joes aggressive baserunning. Roa then stole third, rounded the bag aggressively, and scored on a throwing error from the third baseman, giving Hamilton an early 1-0 lead.

But that momentum was short-lived. The persistent issue that’s haunted the Joes this season—free passes—reared its ugly head in the second inning. Three walks and two hit batters set the stage for a disastrous frame. A single, followed by back-to-back triples, plated seven Mariners runs, ending Taylor’s night early and putting Grand Lake up 7-1.

As they’ve done all season, the Joes kept battling. After a Travis Yankovich walk, Diego DeCello smashed an RBI triple and then scored on a wild pitch, cutting the deficit to 7-3.

That fight carried into the fourth when Hamilton loaded the bases with no outs. Roa worked an RBI walk, and back-to-back errors by the third baseman allowed two more runs to score. Denby capped the rally with an RBI single to tie the game 7-7 through four.

The pitchers would settle in as the game went on.  Marc Iozzo came in and once again showed why he may deserve some more innings on the mound, tossing 4.1 innings while allowing just one run on one hit. Unfortunately, that lone run hurt, as an RBI single just off the top of Jaxson Christ’s glove gave Grand Lake an 8-7 lead in the seventh.

At that point, you could feel the doubt creeping in. Close games haven’t been kind to the Joes this year, and this one felt like it was trending in the same direction—until the eighth inning.

Jackson Wang and Jaxson Christ, the heartbeat of the Joes lineup this season, opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Correa followed by getting hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Then Denby stepped in and, on a full count, ripped a line-drive, bases-clearing triple to center field—giving Hamilton a 10-8 lead. It was a massive swing from Denby, who shined in his return from illness.

Yankovich followed with an RBI double to score Denby, then came home himself on a wild pitch, stretching the lead to 12-8 heading into the ninth.

But this wild game wasn’t done yet. After a leadoff strikeout, three straight walks loaded the bases. A pitching change did little to help. Two hit batters and another walk forced in three runs, bringing the score to 12-11. Another pitching change brought in Dylan Kaiser, who quickly got ahead 0-2. But a deep fly to center proved just far enough to tie the game at 12. Kaiser eventually escaped the inning, but the damage was done—the game was tied heading to the bottom of the ninth.

After a groundout to start the inning, Correa ripped a sharp single past the shortstop, and with the Joes returning to their bread and butter—aggressive baserunning—he stole second. Denby then blooped a ball into shallow right that dropped between three Mariners defenders, putting runners on the corners. That brought up Cody Miller, pinch-hitting in a massive spot. On the first pitch, Miller dropped down a perfect bunt. Correa raced home, sliding in safely as the Joes walked it off, winning 13-12.

While this game certainly was far from perfect and still held many of the same issues that have killed the Joes this season, they persevered and got the win.  Finally winning one of these close games and doing it in walk-off fashion has to be a momentum boost for this team moving forward into more crucial games in July.   

Brett Denby was the clear player of the game, going 4-for-5 with four RBI’s and obviously, that clutch triple in the eighth.  DeCello (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI), Christ (2-for-5, R), and Iozzo (4.1 IP, H, ER, 2 K) also had incredible days and contributed to this massive win for the Joes.

Hamilton is right back in action tomorrow night against the Mariners at Eastview Park with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM.