Lorain County Ironmen changing league, starting high school tournament

A new league and new baseball tournament will be part of the Lorain County Ironmen’s 2015 season at the Pipe Yard Powered by FirstEnergy Solutions, 2840 Meister Road in Lorain. A day after the end of the World Series, the Lorain County Ironmen on Oct. 30 announced the team will play in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, which will have a dozen teams in Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. The Ironmen also will host Lorain High School for the team’s third season. High school teams from Strongsville, St. Edward and 2014 state qualifier Massillon Jackson also will play at the Pipe Yard. The inaugural Ironmen High School Classic, with high school teams of Amherst, Mentor, St. Ignatius and Walsh Jesuit, also will be May 1 and 2. ‘We are excited to be able to give the people of Lorain County, the opportunity to experience the best high school baseball in the state of Ohio,’ said Ironmen Manager Kevin Rhomberg. ‘By having teams that are consistently ranked in the state’s Top 10 polls, baseball fans in Lorain County will be able to see some of the best players in Ohio.’ The Ironmen also will move out of the Prospect League and into the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. The change is designed for geographical advantages, and ease of travel for the players, Rhomberg said. ‘Fans will not see a drop in the quality of baseball,’ Rhomberg said. ‘The Great Lakes League is a Major League Baseball sponsored summer collegiate wood bat league, which helps to draw top collegiate prospects.’ For example, Rhomberg noted current Cleveland Indian, Nick Swisher played in the Great Lakes League. Now 28 years old, the league has had more than 900 players drafted and typically pro baseball teams draft 30 to 40 alumni a year, said Jim DeSana, league President and Manager of the Lake Erie Monarchs. ‘The Ironmen will be staying in place as the Lorain County Ironmen and play in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and we’re very happy to have them,’ DeSana said. The league has games with high levels of college baseball talent, music and in-game experiences, and the teams strive to create an atmosphere like a smaller-scale minor league ball game, DeSana said. The players also want to interact with fans and spread the interest in baseball to the youth of their team communities, he said. Many of the players come from colleges of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The teams have 30 players who are not paid, but get to play baseball every day for 50 to 60 days, DeSana said.

Teams have 44 games in the season, with 22 home and 22 away. Teams set their own ticket prices, but the games are affordable for families and most ticket prices typically are $5, he said. The Great Lakes League has 10 teams in Ohio, one in Michigan and one in Kentucky, and the ones closest to each other sometimes develop local rivalries, DeSana said. At least five teams will be within 110 miles of the Lorain County Ironmen; two more new addition teams will be announced soon, with at least one in northern Ohio, DeSana said. The current roster of teams includes the Cincinnati Steam, Grand Lake Mariners, Hamilton Joes, Lake Erie Monarchs, Xenia Scouts, Licking County Settlers, Lima Locos, Southern Ohio Copperheads and the Lexington Hustlers.