By Eli Halverson | July 26, 2025

Heading into Saturday night’s game, the Joes have taken two in a row from their division rival Xenia Scouts.  They looked to take Game Three and complete the sweep.

The Scouts were the ones to get on the board first.  To leadoff the game, Noah Manasan ripped a triple into the right field gap, starting the game off perfectly.  After a sharp lineout, a bloop single into right field would score Manasan and give Xenia the early 1-0 lead. 

Hamilton would explode in the second though.  A hit batter and a Xenia error saw runners get on second and third early without even needing a hit.  Then, Diego DeCello ripped an RBI single to tie the game with nobody out.  Cody Miller and Mark Nowak ripped back-to-back singles of their own and just like that, it was 3-1 Joes with still nobody out.  Hamilton was far from finished.  Travis Yankovich batted next and smashed a double, scoring two more and while the runs would ultimately end there, it was now 5-1 Hamilton.  

Xenia would continue to chip away though.  A poorly timed wild pitch saw one run come across in the third and the fifth would bring more trouble.  After a pitching change, Xenia would get their own rally going.  A leadoff double followed immediately by a single got one across and after a hit batter and a walk, the bases were loaded with nobody out.  While a popout would finally get the first out, a backbreaking walk that began with the count 0-2 scored yet another.  Then, a flyball to right looked like it would score another but an absolute seed from Christopher Roa in right was right on the money and caught the runner at home for the inning-ending double play, keeping it at 5-4 Hamilton. 

They continued to battle into the sixth.  While the walks and free passes seem to have vanished over the last couple weeks for the Joes, they returned once again in the sixth with Hamilton walking the bases loaded with just one out in the inning.  Then, a single and an immediate hit batter would score two more, giving Xenia the lead 6-5.  

Hamilton would continue to battle as well.  In the bottom half of the seventh, the Joes were helped out by a play you rarely see on the basepaths.  After two leadoff walks and a wild pitch, Hamilton had runners on second and third with nobody out in the inning.  Jaxson Christ then smacked a high fly ball to deep and center and it was caught.  The first runner came in to score easily, but then the second runner, Christopher Roa rounded third and headed for home.  The throw beat him home but the catcher couldn’t quite hold on to the ball, and Roa scored, giving Christ a two-run sacrifice fly and giving the Joes a 7-6 lead heading into the final two innings.  

In the bottom half of the eighth, the insurance runs continued coming across.  Two singles from Nowak and Miller got the inning started and after a costly error from the shortstop, another run came in to double Hamilton’s lead.  They weren’t done there.  With runners now on first and third, Roa stepped in and continued to deliver in what was maybe his best game of the season.  Roa smashed a triple off the wall in deep center field, scoring two more insurance runs, and those runs would prove absolutely crucial.  

In the ninth, Xenia immediately started a rally with a leadoff double and immediate single, scoring the run and setting the tone for the inning.  Then, two walks and a passed ball saw another run come across and with two outs in the inning, manager Aaron Brill turned to Diego DeCello — who hadn’t thrown a competitive pitch since his junior year of high school in 2022 — and he delivered.  Throwing just one pitch, the batter broke his bat on a grounder to second, getting the out and sealing a 10-8 Joes win.

With the victory, the postseason officially begins. Hamilton will once again face the Xenia Scouts in the South Division Series, and this sweep should provide valuable momentum heading into the playoffs.  On the other side of the bracket, the Lima Locos will match up with the Michigan Monarchs for a spot in the league championship series.

Game one of the South Division Series will take place Monday night at Grady’s Field with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.