Locke solid for the Owlz

OGDEN — It's been an eventful year for Orem Owlz pitcher Stephen Locke.

Some of the events have been great. Some not.

Locke tore his ACL in December, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in January and later had those charges dropped due to a lack of evidence. In the meantime, he was kicked off of the Florida Gators' baseball team, and had a murky baseball future.

And now?

Locke, once he was reinstated by the Gators, put together a solid senior season and was a 22nd-round draft pick by the Angels in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft earlier this month. He continued his remarkable comeback on Tuesday night, as he threw five strong innings in Orem's 7-3 win over Ogden in the Pioneer League opener for both teams.

"He's a good kid," said Orem manager Tom Kotchman. "He's got a good family. He knows what he's doing."

That was certainly evident on Tuesday. Locke allowed three hits while striking out four. He never allowed the Raptors to put two runners on base at the same time. Ogden's lone run off of Locke came on a solo home run by rightfielder Jerry Sands.

Kotchman was comforted by the fact that he had Locke throwing on opening night. Locke was Florida's Friday night pitcher this past season, a role that's given to the ace on college teams.

"He's not a thrower, he's a pitcher," Kotchman said. "That's the one guy I do know what he can do. He competes."

Another obstacle Locke has overcome is Tommy John surgery. He had the reconstructive elbow procedure in 2005.

"Pitching was the key to the game," Kotchman said. "If you only give up three (runs), you'll win a lot in this league because the ball flies."

The Owlz made sure Locke earned the victory by giving him some run support in the fourth inning. Catcher Braulio Pardo broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double, and then second baseman Jean Segura tacked on another run with an RBI on a single.

Orem broke the game open in the sixth. Segura blasted a two-run homer to give the Owlz a 5-1 lead, and third baseman Michael Wing chipped in an RBI single.

"I thought Segura's home run was big," Kotchman said. "Just getting the lead (was key). Everyone has jitters on opening night. It's good to get opening night out of the way and it'll be good to get opening night out of the way at our place."

Raptors designated hitter Angelo Songco displayed his power when he hit a two-run home run in the seventh to get the Raptors a little closer.

"I thought we played a decent ballgame," said Ogden manager Damon Berryhill. "We ran into some decent pitching. (Locke) threw strikes, got ahead and mixed speeds well."

Tuesday's game was the opening of a four-game series between the two teams. The last two contests will be played at Orem on Thursday and Friday.

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com