Harbin’s quality start, relentless offense sends Gems to Prospect League championship series

MARION, Ill. — Noah Harbin never flinched.

Otto Jones made it easier not to do so.

Harbin, the Quincy Gems right-handed starter, allowed solo home runs in each of the first two innings Tuesday night in the Prospect League’s Western Conference championship as the Thrillville Thrillbillies snared a 2-0 lead.

That was gone with one swing. After Joe Siervo led off the top of the third with a double, the Gems’ Jones launched a two-run home run to left field. Quincy took the lead later in the inning when Harry Oden scored on a fielder’s choice, and the Gems never trailed again.

Harbin struck out eight over 5 ⅔ innings, while the offense used a five-run frame in the eighth inning to put away a 13-6 victory at Mtn Dew Park and earn a berth in the Prospect League’s championship series.

The Gems, who won the Great River Division in the second half to get into the playoffs, will play host to the Eastern Conference champion Chillicothe Paints at 6:35 p.m. Thursday in the first game in the best-of-three series. Games 2 and 3, if necessary, will be played in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Saturday and Sunday.

The Paints won the Eastern Conference title with a 12-0 victory over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes.

Local products have given the Gems a boost on the mound in the playoffs.

Quincy Notre Dame graduate Jake Schisler threw four solid innings at the start of the division championship against the Clinton LumberKings, and Harbin, a Quincy High School graduate, was in command for a majority of his stint Tuesday.

Harbin allowed one baserunner in the third through fifth innings, but used strikeouts to avoid any danger. In the sixth, he allowed a leadoff walk and got two flyouts before being pulled. Gems reliever Rich Snider was a little wild at the start, hitting the first batter, getting called for a balk and allowing a run-scoring single, but the bullpen stayed solid.

Snider allowed one run in one inning of work, and Jake Syverson gave up one run in 1 ⅓ innings. Left-hander Stephen Eskridge struck out two and allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning to finish the victory.

The Gems took a 3-2 lead to the fifth when Jake Zebig had an RBI double and Jaison Andujar added a run-scoring sacrifice fly. A three-run sixth inning featured a Jimmy Koza RBI single and a two-run double by Kyle Hvidsten.

In the eighth, Hvidsten, Tristan Meny, Siervo and Jones each had an RBI single.

The Gems finished with 19 hits as Zebig, Hvidsten, Siervo and Oden had three hits apiece. Oden scored four runs, and Zebig scored three times.