Ice Haulers to host Locos as new meets old in GLSCL playoffs

In the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League's inaugural season, Lima fielded a team. It was known as the Blues for one year before rebranding as the Locos in 1988. There were six teams that founded the GLSCL together. The Locos are the only one of this 'Original Six' left standing. They've won six league championships (1993, 2004, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019), and they draw on a passionate local fanbase for consistent attendance. "(Lima is) one of the premier franchises in regards to on the field performance and also in getting people in the stands," Ice Haulers general manager Ray Neill said. That's the pedigree that'll travel to Sports Force Parks on Monday when the Sandusky Bay Ice Haulers, playing their inaugural season, host their first-ever playoff game. As a collegiate summer league, the players change every season, so history doesn't mean everything. But it's about as stark a contrast as exists in the GLSCL. "They have that history," Neill said. "You can't take that away from them, but when it comes down to the final picture, 60 feet 6 inches, the bases are 90 (feet), and our guys and their guys all have played a lot of baseball over their lives, their careers. I don't look at that as any advantage to them." Sandusky Bay (28-13) held off Lima (26-14) in the regular season standings, claiming the North Division crown and the home-field advantage that comes with it. The Ice Haulers also won five of the nine games they played against the Locos. Sandusky Bay finishes its season Saturday at Galion. The Ice Haulers, a new entry in the GLSCL after the Sandusky Bay Stars played from 1990-1999, were meant to begin play in 2020 before COVID-19 canceled the season. That meant that bats and gear sat for a year, untouched, before this year's iteration showed up fresh off their spring college baseball seasons. Players descended upon their Terra State dorm rooms and Sports Force Parks home field from all over the country — contingents from East Tennessee State, Nevada-Las Vegas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi all are a part of the Ice Haulers. Some trips were shorter, with players from Tiffin University, Marietta and Toledo also joining Sandusky Bay. "I'm fortunate enough from that previous time in the Great Lakes, there's a handful more of guys I coached in the '90s who are now coaching at the collegiate level throughout our country," Neill said. "I would tell you more than half our roster is coming from schools that are Sandusky Bay Stars ex-players who are coaches in those programs." After a year of waiting to discover what sort of team would take the field, the Ice Haulers lost. And then lost. And lost, lost and lost once more. An 0-5 start in a season less than 50 games long didn't bode well for playoff chances. "I was a little worried about that after game five, but then coach Bill Clay and coach Jacob Bradley and coach Grant Bates, they've done an outstanding job in righting the ship and then going out and winning," Neill said. All it took was one win to get Sandusky Bay to break the slide, and the victories quickly multiplied. The Ice Haulers, after starting the season winless in five contests, won 21 of their next 22 games. Even a late-season stretch around .500 couldn't stop Sandusky Bay from finishing with the GLSCL's top regular season record, guaranteeing home-field advantage as long as the Ice Haulers could survive the playoffs. And all it'll take is four wins for Sandusky Bay to be crowned champions — two in a three-game series against Lima, and then two more against the finalist from the South Division. No one knew to expect when the Ice Haulers took the field to start their inaugural campaign. But the hopes, if not outright expectations, quickly escalated toward a championship. --- Ice Haulers' first round playoff schedule Game 1: Monday, July 26 at Sports Force Parks, 7:05 p.m. Game 2: Tuesday, July 27 at Lima's Simmons Field Game 3: Wednesday, July 28 at Sports Force Parks (if necessary)