Devin Smith pitched a gem in his first start of the summer on Sunday, helping the Lima Locos to a 7-3 victory over the Richmond Jazz.
The 2015 Mt. Hermon graduate was the winning pitcher. He threw five shutout innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts and just two walks.
Smith, who is entering his senior season at William Carey University in the upcoming school year, was making his ninth appearance.
“I’ve been closing. I’ve been our set closer all summer,” Smith said. “We’ve had some injuries and some guys go home. They got to their set number of innings, so they went home. Coach (Jared Gaynor) asked me if I could start and I’ll do anything for the team
“I threw pretty well. Everybody was pretty pleased. The most pitches I threw closing was 15 and I threw 73 on Sunday.”
This summer, Smith is 1-0 with two saves and a 2.25 ERA. Smith has struck out 17 and walked seven over 16 innings in his nine games, which includes one start.
Smith said he does not have a preference on whether he starts or closes.
“I like closing. I like being the guy the coaches go to when the game is on the line, but I also like starting. I like controlling the game and going at my own pace. Each one of them has their pros and cons,” Smith said.
The Lima Locos are part of the Northern Division in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. The Locos entered Tuesday’s play with a 16-9 record this summer and were two up in the loss column over the St. Clair Green Giants, who began Tuesday at 16-11.
The Locos, who are located in Ohio, are about two hours north of Cincinnati and two hours south of Cleveland. The teams in the league come from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Canada.