Ironmen hold off Settlers for 2nd win in a row

After dropping four in a row, Lorain County is reversing the trend.

A strong pitching performance by Josh Armbruster and some two-out hitting propelled the host Ironmen a lead. They survived a rocky ninth for their second win in a row with a 6-5 over Licking County in Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League action June 17.

“We got into a little trouble in the ninth … but I am very pleased with the win,” Lorain County Manager Kevin Whiteside said. “We got a lot of big two-out hits in the right time. We’re building and we are going to get there. It was a wellplayed game on both sides.”

Trailing, 6-2, Licking County (2-8) rallied with three straight hits to start the ninth. Three runs later and with the bases loaded, Ryan LaPage ended the game with a strikeout to preserve the win.

The Ironmen’s offense came to life early against Licking County starter Nathan Malinovsky. Dominic Mittiga and Jack Longo had singles in the bottom of the second inning. Nathan

Erzen singled to center to score Mittiga, while Mathew Carpenter grounded out to score Longo and give them a 2-0 lead

Being aggressive on the base paths allowed Lorain County (3-6) to add to its lead in the third inning. Sam Casinelli singled and stole second. He scored on Jaret Peterson’s two-out single left to make it 3-0.

Armbruster ran into trouble in the third inning, allowing the first two batters to reach base. After a sacrifice fly by Sebastian Samuels which scored Andrew Ivelia, the Settlers had runners on second and third with one out.

However, Armbruster bore down and got the next two batters out to limit the damage.

Meanwhile, Lorain County’s penchant for two-out base hits continued to flourish.

In the sixth inning, four consecutive hits with two outs plated a pair of runs. Nicholas Novak singled home Carpenter, who doubled. Novak went to second on an error and scored on Michael Blatchford’s single to right to give the Ironmen a 5-1 lead.

Carpenter delivered again in the seventh inning with clutch two-out single to left to score Longo. Carpenter went 3-4 with a double and two RBI.

“I think we are doing a good job of two-strike hitting,” Carpenter said. “We are starting to hit the fastballs … We have a bunch of good guys and I think the chemistry is starting to come together.”

Going into the seventh inning, Armbruster was outstanding. He ended up going 6 1/3 innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits. He finished with five strikeouts. Justin Liserio relieved Armbruster in the seventh.

“It was a little nerveracking, but it was fun to see them get out of it,” Armbruster said. “I was happy with the start and we put up six runs which was great to see.

“You can go throw strikes you know you have some runs to work with and the defense is going to make the play.”

Lorain County returns to action June 20, hosting Xenia Scouts in a doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 5:05 p.m.