The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain County lets game slip away again
Pitcher LaPage offers bright spot for the Ironmen
The Lorain County Ironmen had a handful of opportunities but in the end, they dropped their second-to-last game, 5-2, to the visiting Lima Locos July 29 at the Pipe Yard.
Lima, the 2017 Central Division champions and owners of the best record in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, put pressure on the Ironmen early after capitalizing on a fielding error and scoring a pair of runs in the first inning.
The Ironmen (13-28) had just two hits and stranded three base runners through four innings, but thanks to the effort of starter Ryan LaPage, held off the Lima offense until the Locos added two more runs in the sixth.
“He has exceeded my expectations for him this summer,” Ironmen manager Kevin Whiteside said. “Any time I’ve asked him to pitch, he’s gotten the ball and he’s always given us an opportunity to win. It was very unfortunate tonight that he got the loss. I felt like if we make one or two plays, we’re in the ball game and he’s got an opportunity to get a win.”
After the damage in the first inning, LaPage retired the next seven batters in order while
the Ironmen added runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
With the Locos leading, 5-2, heading into the final half inning, the Ironmen had given themselves their best shot of the night and had the bases loaded with two outs and No. 2 hitter Nick Novak at the plate. But Novak fell behind in the count and struck out swinging at a pitch in the dirt to end the game.
“We had opportunities,” Whiteside said. “We had opportunities in this game. We missed a couple balls we probably should’ve caught to put us in the situation we were in but we had the bases loaded right there and we just didn’t come up with a big hit like we needed to.”
Antonio Bennett (Clearview) went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, Canyon McWilliams went 2-for-4 and Mathew Carpenter had a walk and an RBI.
LaPage (1-4) took the loss in seven innings, giving up seven hits and five runs (three earned) while striking out four.
“We always have really
good games against (Lima),” Whiteside said. “Those guys are probably the best team in the league for a reason.
“They do a really good job, have great coaches, great players, but, for us, we just got to continue to go out there and compete because at the end of the day that’s where we want to be. We want to be in that situation where we’re winning the division, competing for a championship.”
As the Ironmen head into their final game of the season, Whiteside’s message remains the same — finish strong and build for next year — but tomorrow it’s all about enjoying the moment and savoring the last game with a team that has grown a lot over the summer.
“(I’m) just trying to tell these guys to have fun because at the end of the day this is the last time this team will be together so I just really, from a coaching standpoint, these guys have come out and competed for me all summer,” Whiteside said.
“I just really want, to be honest, just to enjoy these guys and love on them a little bit because I’ll be tracking their careers from this point on.”