LORAIN – The Lorain County Ironmen log the lowest team batting average in the Prospect League, but that wasn’t the case July 12.
The Ironmen (22-37) generated 12 hits during a 6-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader with the Champion City Kings (28-32), though a solid start from Mentor native Justin Fritts didn’t require much run support.
The Ironmen struck first in their share of the second inning. Milan native Taylor Emody and Tyler Bires hit back-to-back singles to set the table for Kyle Michalik and Anthony Bova, who each singled for a pair of runs.
In the third inning, the Ironmen scored once more on a trio of hits. The big blow, however, came in the fourth.
Lou Peterlin was plunked by a pitch and Bova knocked a double to left field. Cue Strongsville’s Nate Langhals, who hit a three-run home run over the left-field wall for the 6-0 lead.
Langhals, a University of Toledo alumnus, is hitting .222 on the season with two home runs and 13 RBI.
Meanwhile, Fritts, a Wheeling Jesuit University junior, tossed four innings of hitless ball until the fifth inning, during which a walk and a one-out single by Trevor Lowe started a small rally for the Kings. A fly ball to center allowed both runners to advance before Landon Lucansky sent an RBI single to center to put Champion City of the board.
The Kings earned one more run in the sixth inning as Leiff Clarkson singled and scored on a hit by Lowe. That was all the Kings could manage as Fritts gave way to Willoughby native Jake Hall in the sixth inning. Hall faced four batters as he closed out the seven-inning shortened game with three strikeouts.
It didn’t take as long for the Kings to get some hits in the second game.
Tanner Reibenspies led off the game with a double down the left-field line, and the Kings had hits in the second and third innings, but the Kings could not capitalize for runs.
A walk and a wild pitch proved costly for Ironmen starter Devin Daugherty in the fourth inning. With two out, Ryan Fucci sent a single straight up the middle to score Chris Perkovich for the 1-0 lead.
On the other side, the Ironmen bats were much quieter. Tyler Greiner had Lorain County’s first hit of the game in the third inning, but the remainder of the offense was quiet.
Lowe continued his three-hit day with a solo home run, his first of the year, off Daugherty in the sixth inning.
Down two runs, the Ironmen turned to Hall again to pitch the 7th inning. Hall, who pitched 1 1/3 innings in the first game, surrendered one hit but escaped the inning unscathed.
Mamer went the distance for Champion City as he remained in the game to pitch the seventh. The Ironmen boarded one baserunner but had no luck bringing him home, sealing Champion City with the 2-0 win.
The Ironmen collected 16 total hits on the day and committed no errors. Bires boosted his average to .222 as he hit 3-for-3, and Emody went 4-for-6 to raise his average to .317.
Next, the Kings host the Ironmen July 13 at Davidson Stadium in Springfield, Ohio.
