By Eli Halverson | July 13, 2025

Following a dominant game two victory over the Lima Locos, the Joes hit the road for Sunday’s rubber match, looking to secure a critical series win.

Once again, Hamilton got going early. A walk and hit-by-pitch put the first two runners aboard, and the Joes capitalized on a pair of Lima errors to score the game’s first run.

GLSCL All-Star Michael Murphy got the start, and while he didn’t have his best stuff, he still turned in a serviceable outing. Murphy lasted two innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs—both coming in the first.

From there, it was Dean Brown’s time to shine. Also recently named a league all-star, Brown came in and dealt five strong innings, giving up just two hits and one unearned run. It was a dominant performance that showed exactly why he’s one of 13 Joes selected to the GLSCL All-Star Game.

Hamilton answered right back in the third. Jaxson Christ led off the inning by launching his second home run of the season, tying the game at two. Christ, who was recently named the South Division’s starting DH, picked a perfect time to go yard. Christopher Roa then reached on an error and used two wild pitches to get to third, setting up Miguel Correa—who drove in his league-leading 28th RBI to give the Joes a 3–2 lead.

Lima would eventually tie it in the seventh with an unearned run off Brown, sending the game to the ninth deadlocked at three. In the top half, Christ stayed hot with a leadoff single and was moved up after a Roa walk. A double play looked like it might kill the rally, but Roa took off for third, and when the throw skipped into the outfield, he trotted home with the go-ahead run.

Matty Helms, who has locked down the closer role in recent weeks, came on in the bottom half and delivered once again. He allowed just one baserunner before shutting the door and securing a 4–3 win, clinching the series for Hamilton.

What a series win for the Joes. After a deflating series loss earlier in the week to the Monarchs, Hamilton came back and took two out of three from the best team in the league and seem to have turned the page, gaining some momentum as we wind down the regular season.

After an off-day on Monday, Hamilton returns to action Tuesday night at Foundation Field against the Flag City Sluggers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.