DeCello went 2-for-4, Brett Denby added a 4-for-5 performance at the plate and Cody Miller dropped down the game-winning suicide squeeze bunt to lift the Joes past the Grand Lake Mariners 13-12 in a Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League contest at Foundation Field.
“I’ve just been working on my swing really,” said DeCello, a Badin High School graduate who will enter his junior year at Marietta College. “There’s some good pitching in this league, and just getting to see that is good. I’m just trying to work my swing out. I trust myself in the field. It’s just all about getting reps in the box for me.
“Today, I felt like I was getting back in the groove. Early in the season, I was swinging it well. Then the past couple of games, I was in a little bit of a slump. But today I got back on the tracks, and it felt good.”
The Joes (11-11) have been hovering around the .500 mark during the first half of the season. But first-year coach Aaron Brill said his squad is far from that.
“Maybe I’m super biased. I think we have the most talent in the league.” Brill said. “If we can throw strikes, we will win every game. I confidently believe that. No one is going to outhit us. They’re not going to outscore us. If we can pitch to our skill level — the touch isn’t always there — but if we can pitch to our stuff, it’s going to be very hard to beat us.”
Brill took over for Tyler Thamann, who led the Joes the last four years. The summer league program finished 26-9 and won its fifth GLSCL title last season.
“The Joes definitely have a reputation, so the big thing for me was wanting to come in and kind of build and feed on top of that and not try to reinvent the wheel,” Brill said. “This is my first time being in charge. I’ve coached, I’ve played, but I’ve never run a team. So I wanted to kind of follow the lead as much as I could and keep with the tradition of the program.
“This is a little different. It’s not quite like college baseball. It’s probably closer to what I’m used to — which is professional baseball where you play every day and it’s a grind,” Brill added. “That’s the biggest thing that I wanted to bring to these guys is to me, from the outside looking in college, baseball is very micromanaged and controlled, but then you get to pro ball, it’s fend for yourself.
“I kind of wanted to help them realize I’ll treat you guys like men, and it’s going to be up to you to prove to me that you know how to do the little things or else you’re just not going to play. I’m not going to hold your hand. I’m not going to show you how to do every little thing. You’ve got to prove to me that you know how to play the game because a lot of today’s players get really hung up on the training. They miss out on the little things.
“I’m just trying to give them the freedom that I’m not going to control you. Just go play and be yourself and have fun — which is good for summer ball. They want a break.”
The playmaker
Denby hadn’t seen much action in the outfield simply because he’s an infielder. In fact, his action had been limited altogether because of an illness.
But the Wright State University product from Indiana got some playing time in right field Tuesday night.
And he made an immediate impact.
Denby laid out for a diving catch in shallow right center before doubling up a Mariners baserunner at first base to end the top half of the first.
“I found that really funny,” Denby said. “I was really excited because I’m not primarily an outfielder. I’m an infielder. That’s what I’ve always played. It was just awesome just to be able to experience that.”
When Denny reached the dugout after his catch, he was asked by teammates if he trapped the ball.
But he smiled.
“Oh, no way. I caught it,” Denby laughed. “I’m 100% sure I caught it.”
That was the jumpstart to Denby’s four-hit day offensively, which included a bases-loaded-clearing triple that gave the Joes an 11-8 lead in the eighth inning.
“I just say that I want to be a spark plug,” Denby noted. “I want to come through for my guys. Just in that moment, I was not trying to do too much. I was just trying to help us get the lead — do whatever I can to help the team and just come through for the boys.”
The game-winner
It had already been three hours and 45 minutes Tuesday night. Cody Miller was ready to finish it off.
The Joes surrendered four runs in top of the ninth, which tied it at 12-12. But an offensive surge put them in good position in the bottom of the ninth.
Miller came off the bench to deliver.
“I told him that if we get some base runners, it might be time for you to bunt,” Brill said. “It was a pretty good idea.
“But we had to make sure the runner on third knows. That was kind of the whole discussion during our timeout,” Brill added. “Great idea — but we have to make sure we’re all on the same page.
“He laid an amazing one down. There was nothing they could do.”
Miller pushed one down the first-base line while Miguel Correa Jr. dashed toward home plate. Correa slid in unscathed to give the Joes the victory.
“We haven’t had the greatest luck with the sudden death stuff, so I’m glad we were able to do it there,” Brill said.
“After a long day, you’re kind of wanting to do anything to get the game over and get us out of here with a win?” Miller chimed in. “That’s just kind of who I am — just a team player.
“We found a way to win, and that’s all we can ask for.”
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