LORAIN – The Lorain County Ironmen seized every opportunity offered by some mistakes made by the West Virginia Miners July 23.
The result was a handful of errors, wild pitches and a 12-5 Ironmen victory.
The Ironmen scored first as shortstop Cody Semler doubled and scored on an RBI single by second baseman Billy Salem in the second inning. The Miners’ rebuttal came immediately in the third. David Schaeffer led off with a double to right-center and scored on an error by Semler at short to level the score at 1-1.
Lorain County took advantage of some Miners mistakes in the third inning. Tyler Bires and Andrew Gronski hit consecutive singles and Taylor Emody walked to load the bases. With one out, Semler sent a ground ball right through third baseman Mike Brousseau, leading to two runs. A third unearned run crossed as Salem grounded out to first.
West Virginia cut the lead in half due to some erratic pitches by Lorain County starter Logan Landon in the fourth. Landon surrendered a single before a passed ball pushed the runner to second. A pair of wild pitches set the table for a sacrifice fly by Grant Massey, setting the score at 4-2.
The floodgates opened on the Miners in the fourth. With one out, Bires and Gronski each singled. Emody singled and advanced to second on an error in right field that allowed Bires to score. A dropped third strike brought Gronski home before Semler doubled again to plate two.
Cleveland native Carlos Ortiz hit a one-out solo home run off of reliever Seth Norman in the fifth inning and Bires drew a walk before a single and an error led to the Ironmen’s 10th run.
West Virginia took advantage of reliever Joey Stoll in the eighth inning as the team generated three runs to cut the lead to 10-5. With two out, Massey doubled and Charlie Padilla hit a bloop single to right. A wild pitch allowed Padilla to advance before an error on Gronski at third brought Padilla home. A pair of walks and another wild pitch scored one more, but Stoll managed to complete the inning without further damage.
The Ironmen added insurance runs off Norman in the eighth. After a leadoff walk and a fielder’s choice, Salem lifted a double beyond the centerfielder’s reach to score two, boosting the Ironmen to the 12-5 lead.
In the ninth, Matt Ellenbest set the Miners down in order.
The Ironmen collected 13 total hits. Eleven of their runs scored came from the first five hitters in the lineup, though the bottom five crafted all seven RBI. Gronski led the team with a 3-for-5 day, advancing his average to .241.
