‘He’s a tough at-bat every time he’s up’: Doggy Paddlers’ Koza producing in his return to Quincy

QUINCY — For the second time in the last three years, Jimmy Koza has made Quincy his summer home, but his journey to the Gem City started 12 hours away in Lynchburg, Va.

Following his freshman season in 2023 on the Virgina Military Institute baseball team, then-VMI assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ryan Noe helped connect Koza with then-Quincy Gems manager Brad Gyorkos.

“I never really knew too much about summer baseball, but I always wanted to play every day, and this league gives you that opportunity,” Koza said.

The rest is history. Koza joined the Gems that summer, helping them advance to the Prospect League Championship Series, where they fell in three games to the Chillicothe Paints. Koza had six hits in those three games, including a 4-for-5 performance in game one, which the Gems won 18-12.

The Gems started the season 5-12 before catching fire in late June. They went 26-14 from that point forward, and Koza was at the center of the Gems’ success. He hit .287 with a .433 on-base percentage, 10 doubles, two home runs and 23 RBIs and stole 21 bases in 45 games 

“We didn’t start out very well, but we just got hot at the right time in that second half,” Koza said of that 2023 Gems squad. “It was super fun to get to travel to Chillicothe. Obviously, we didn’t finish it, but it was a crazy experience. My best baseball memory was playing in Chillicothe with all the boys. Now I’m back for more.”

Things did not start as well as they ended that summer.

“He won’t like this, but my first impression of Jimmy is we were going to cut him because I didn’t think he was good enough,” Gyorkos said. “He made like four errors in two days or something like that and we lost a couple games because he couldn’t catch the ball, then he started playing better baseball, and it ended up working out.”

Three years later, Koza is back with Gyorkos for the third consecutive summer, joining the Quincy Doggy Paddlers in their inaugural season. Koza played under Gyorkos for the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes in 2024 after Jimmie and Julie Louthan sold the Gems to Full Count Ministries in September 2023 and the franchise was relocated to Henderson, Tenn.

That first summer in the Gem City was enough to convince Koza to follow Gyorkos to Springfield and back to Quincy this year.

“Wherever he goes, that’s where I go,” said Koza, a Carpentersville, Ill., product who was born in Bowling Green, Ohio. “He’s just the best coach to play for. Every day, he treats everybody the same. That’s super important to me. I just love playing for him.”

Koza, who now plays his college ball at NCAA Division II Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., has been a staple at the top of Brad Gyorkos’ lineup once again. He is hitting .295 with a .394 on-base percentage, four doubles, 16 RBIs, 19 runs scored and 11 stolen bases through 20 games.

“He’s a tough at-bat every time he’s up,” Gyorkos said. “When you have a leadoff guy who’s a tough out and sees a lot of pitches, that’s always helpful.”

Koza’s signature moment of his most recent stint in Quincy came in the only game he has not started. On June 11 against the Alton River Dragons, Koza entered the game as a pinch runner in the seventh inning. A furious ninth-inning comeback by the Doggy Paddlers sent the game to extra innings, and after the River Dragons scored two runs in the top of the 10th, Koza led off the bottom of the inning with a game-tying, inside-the-park home run.

“Those kinds of moments just come out of nowhere,” Koza said. “You never know when your opportunity is going to come. It just happens, and you have to take full advantage of it. That’s what summer baseball is.”

Koza would have been content with a triple, but Gyrorkos furiously waved Koza home.

“I got to second, and I was ready to stop at third, but I look at BG and his eyes are lit up,” Koza said. “He just kept waving, and I just kept running. If he’s waving me, I trust him. I’ll keep running.”

As impressive as Koza’s hit and sprint around the bases was, the slide was less than spectacular. Koza nearly slid too early but got his right foot in just ahead of catcher Zane Timon’s tag.

“It was an awful slide,” Gyorkos said. “I told him today it was one of the worst slides I’ve seen. He just got stuck in the ground.”

That slide aside, it was a prime example of the electricity Koza brings to the diamond with his speed and by-all-means-necessary attitude.

“You know what you’re going to get,” Gyorkos said. “You’re not surprised with anything. I’ve been lucky to be able to put his name in the lineup for so long.”

With a summer in Quincy already under his belt, Koza has gotten reacclimated to the city.

“Everything’s starting to come back to me over the last couple weeks,” Koza said.

With six games every week, Koza does not have much time to explore Quincy.

“I like hitting early so I’m usually here by 1 o’clock,” Koza said. “I go to the gym at 11. On the off days, I’m usually super lazy. I pretty much just come to the ballpark.”

He uses his one off day to unwind.

“On my off day, I’m laying on the couch and watching some shows,” Koza said.

His current show of choice is “Ozark,” but “How I Met Your Mother” and “King of Queens” recently made their way into the rotation.

“I feel like I pick the longest ones,” Koza said.

Aside from long hours at the ballpark, Koza has found time to check out Quincy’s culinary scene.

“The food is pretty good,” Koza said. “I’ve hit up a few different Mexican restaurants that I like. I like El Rancherito. I like that Chick’s on the River place. I need to go back.”

Those enchiladas or chicken lips would taste even better if the Doggy Paddlers can go on a similar run as the 2023 Gems. The Doggy Paddlers are 8-12 overall.

Koza senses a bit of that 2023 Gems team in this year’s Doggy Paddlers.

“We’ll put it together, no doubt,” Koza said. “It’s a long season. It’s going to be a grind. We’re going to look totally different at the end. Guys are going to continue to get better and we’ll keep having fun, just like my first year. It’s who’s hot at the right time. We just have to keep playing and getting better every day.”

One common thread is Koza, who is once again a prominent piece of the Quincy baseball puzzle.

“This is a baseball town,” Koza said. “The fans love to come every night and support us. Quincy is just a fun place to be.”