LORAIN – After 27 games late into the night, bus rides that don’t end until the early morning hours and the heat of summer, this year’s Prospect League All-Star break was welcomed by most of the members of the Lorain County Ironmen.
The four-day break allows players to catch up on sleep as well as rest those nagging injuries of a long season. That is, of course, unless you are playing in the All-Star game.
For three Ironmen, Matt Ellenbest, Taylor Embody and Lucas Raley, the All-Star break wasn’t a break at all. Instead, the three represented the Ironmen at the 2014 Prospect League All-Star game in Terre Haute, Ind.
‘I thought it was a really big accomplishment, I’ve never been a part of an All-Star team before,’ Ellenbest said. ‘To me, I take that in as something that’s a big accomplishment. ‘
‘I was honored to be nominated by the coaches and everybody else.
‘Honestly, it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.’
As voted on by the owners, coaches and members of the media, the three Ironmen shined in the first half of the year to earn the right to be featured in the big game.
‘I was a little worried because our first half numbers as a team, you know the wins and losses, we were, I think, fifth out of six,’ Lorain County Manager Joe Rhomberg said. ‘So you get a little worried that, because your team had a bad first half, that someone wouldn’t make the team.’
While Raley, Embody and Ellenbest might not have had those days of rest, a trip to the All-Star game does wonders for a player’s confidence going into the second half.
‘(Being an All-Star) helps tremendously with my confidence,’ Ellenbest said. ‘Building off the All-Star game, my confidence, it makes me realize that look, I’ve been dominant for most of the time. I want to continue that dominance into the second half and just have fun, too.’
Knowing that his players missed some rest, Rhomberg said that the experience of the All-Star game can be an even bigger boost than rest. Especially for young guys like Raley, a freshman at Lake Erie College, and Ellenbest, a sophomore at Morehead State.
‘You can see Raley, when he was announced to the All-Star team, it gave him a boost and a step,’ Rhomberg said. ‘He came out hitting and he’s carried on ever since then, so he was really excited about it.’
Now, the Ironmen need to focus on winning in the second half.
Slipping behind in the standings a bit, the Prospect League is structured into two seasons per summer. As of now, the Ironmen are five games out of first place, but still have time to get back into the hunt.
‘It’s getting better, but we’re still a little short on the offense,’ Rhomberg said. ‘We’re not quite getting that big hit when we need it. But other than that, the pitching has been great, defense has been getting a lot better.’
On July 16, the Ironmen took a step to get back on track on an unseasonably cold summer night with a 5-3 victory over the Champion City Kings.
Lorain County starter Logan Landon started his own rally with a triple to lead off the fifth and the Ironmen hit around for five runs before holding on for the win.
Ellenbest slammed the door in the ninth for his ninth save of the season.
With the cold weather creeping in, Ellenbest came out for the save in a long sleeve shirt rarely seen in the middle of July.
‘You’ve gotta have a different approach, usually you’ve got to warm up longer, stretch longer,’ Ellenbest said. ‘But other than that, you’ve got to just stay with the same things, just change your approach.’
