The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
IRONMEN FINISH ON HOT STREAK
Lorain County wins sixth in a row in final game
The way the Lorain County Ironmen are playing baseball right now, it’s a shame their Diamond League season is finished.
The Ironmen had to go into extra innings, but used a two-hitter thrown by pitchers William Laidlaw and reliever and winner Trevor Ray and two threerun innings to defeat the Lake Erie Warhawks, 6-3, on July 11 at Oberlin College’s Dill Field.
The Ironmen (11-10) finished the season on a six-game winning streak and won eight of their final 10 games after starting the season 3-9. The Warhawks, who have a bunch of Lorain County natives on their roster, fell to 12-6 with
one game remaining in their regular season. They have now lost two straight, which is tied for their longest losing streak of the season.
“These guys did real well,” Ironmen manager Kevin Rhomberg said. “A lot of these kids are young kids who didn’t get a lot of at-bats or as many at-bats as they liked to during their college seasons, so now they are catching up as the season goes along. They are all good kids, good athletes. I think every kid here is going to back to school a little bit better, and that’s what it’s all about.
“We didn’t just win six in a row, we won seven out of our last eight. They are starting to get it on. What it really came down to was pitching.”
The stars of the game for the Ironmen were Ray and center fielder Eric Wentz.
Ray, who didn’t pitch very much at the start of the season, came in from the outfield during what turned out to be a three-run fourth inning and retired 10 in a row and 13 of his final 15 batters. He struck out four, walked two, and didn’t allow a hit in 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
“I was a two-seam fastball-curveball guy in college, so that’s what I stuck to today,” Ray said. “I rely on my two-seamer tailing and the curveball getting some good downward action. “I think the main thing for me was coming in with a positive mindset and just give everything you have with each pitch. You let it work out for the best – just give 100 percent effort with each pitch, and that’s what I did.”
Wentz drove in three of the Ironmen’s six runs, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two stolen bases and two runs. His one-out double in the top of the eighth with two runners on wound up being the gamewinning RBI for Lorain County.
“I made a few adjustments and got closer to the plate, which allowed me to see the ball a lot better,” Wentz said. “I stayed inside the ball and it worked. We finally started to put together some at-bats, and our pitching really showed up, too.”
After the Ironmen threatened in the seventh with a one-out triple from reserve Chad Szydlowski, they finally delivered in the top of the eighth off Warhawks reliever Antonio Bennett, a Clearview graduate.
Robert Williams drew a leadoff walk and he took second on a fielding error from shortstop Jacob Hovanec on a grounder hit by Anthony Ward Jr.
Williams was forced at third on a great play from Bennett on a bunt from Ryan Christy, but two were on and one out for Wentz, the No. 2 hitter in the lineup.
Wentz drilled the first pitch to deep left field to break the tie. Ward scored without a throw on the RBI double to make it 4-3.
Cole Revels, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles, plated Wentz and Christy with a hit to center to make it 6-3, Ironmen.
“When the first run scored, I settled down a little bit, but when the next two came in, I knew I just had to go in and throw strikes,” Ray said. “I didn’t have a great at the plate, but to be the guy at the end of the game who’s working hard and have your teammates cheering you on, no better feeling than that.”
Ray calmly shook off a fielding error from his center fielder with a scoreless bottom of the eighth to send the Ironmen off on a high note.
“When Trevor Ray came in, he was strictly a position-only player,” Rhomberg said. “He came in today and said, ‘I’ll pitch,’ and wound up throwing the game of his life. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
The Ironmen also had a nine-batter, three-run second inning to give them a comfortable lead. And they took advantage of an obscure rule to do it.
With two outs, Christy drew a walk and Wentz followed with a two-run single to make it 2-0. Revels followed with a grounder between third and short that eluded the drawn-in Warhawk infield. The ball ticked off Wentz’s leg, but the umpires correctly ruled that there was no runner interference on the play because the runner was behind the defenders, and Wentz was able to sprint home for the third run while the Lake Erie defenders protested.
The Warharks tied the game without a hit in the fourth inning. Laidlaw uncorked four wild pitches along with a passed ball, and three walks, a hit batsman, a successful doublesteal of home and an RBI fielder’s choice made it 3-3 and ended Laidlaw’s day.
Ethan St. Clair (Avon) and Ryan O’Malley had the lone hits for Lake Erie, whose season concludes July 14 at Victory Park in North Ridgeville.