The Lake Erie Warhawks raced to a 4-0 lead thanks to three hits and three walks, but the players are focused on making the summer season count before heading back to their respective college teams, and the Ironmen slowly chipped away before taking a 5-4 lead in the fourth.

But the Warhawks are just as focused on honing their skills this summer, and scored four runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead and eventually the win, beating the Ironmen, 8-7, June 19 in the second meeting between the two local rivals this season.

For the Ironmen, it’s their second one-run loss in a row and third one-run game in as many tries.

“Game to game we’ve seen improvement at the plate especially,” Gabe Barson, a Solon native and utility player for Elon University. “We’re putting up good at-bats, putting good swings on the ball, the pitchers have been throwing strikes more recently, defense has been solid all around so it’s starting to round up.”

It was a positive sign for Barson and his teammates to see the defense lock in after a shaky first inning, and as the offense started to produce, the Ironmen continued to put together a well-rounded performance.

The Warhawks were held scoreless in all but two four-run innings.

“Summer ball’s about getting your work in,” Barson said. “Wins will follow. It’s good to see everybody hitting well and playing well as a team. If we have a mental lapse one inning or two, it’s alright, we’re gonna work through it. It’s summer ball. We’re getting our work in, getting better and having fun as a team.”

Despite allowing the Ironmen to not only come back, but take the lead late, the Warhawks’ mental toughness was their biggest takeaway from the game.

“I know we want to come out here and get better each and every day,” Leighton Banjoff, the 2019 Lorain County Mr. Baseball recipient out of Elyria Catholic said.

“It might not have seemed like we improved but being able to stay mentally focused in the game, competing each and every pitch…we might’ve lost a little focus but being able to regain that and come back and win is big.”

Banjoff had and RBI single and a walk, while former Elyria Catholic teammate Sean Darmafall, who bats leadoff, had a pair of hits.

“The main thing, we want to get the lead-off guy on,” Darmafall said. “We want to try to get as many guys on as early as possible, move them over and try to score them in with the hitters we’ve got because we’ve got some good hitters.”

The Warhawks (4-3) host Blaze Baseball Black in a doubleheader June 23, while the Ironmen (1-8) host the Ohio Longhorns on June 22 at the Pipe Yard in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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.

Butler’s Adam Bleday and Lorain’s County’s J.T. Brubaker – both of whom came into the game ranked in the top six in the league in E.R.A. – locked up. Bleday shut down the Ironmen’s offense, while Butler’s offense got to Brubaker en route to an 8-1 Prospect League win at The Pipe Yard Aug. 1.

‘It looked like it – J.T. was throwing well and their guy throwing well, you figured it was going to come down to a big hit or one mistake,’ Lorain County Manager Joe Rhomberg said. ‘We got into some bad, old habits. We gave them too many two-out runs.

‘We have to figure out ways to get out of those innings … we didn’t limit the damage.’

Lorain County got on the board first against Bleday, who came into the game with a sparkling 1.71 E.R.A.

With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Cody Semler doubled to deep left to score Taylor Emody (Edison) from first.

After cruising through the first three innings, Brubaker ran into trouble in the fourth.

Ryan Hanahan and Cody Herald had back-to-back singles to start the inning. Ryan Uhl hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Hanahan to tie the game at one. Jeffrey Revesz gave Butler the lead with a two-out single to left.

Looking to answer Butler in the bottom of the fourth, the Ironmen put runners on first and third with one out. However, Butler turned a 5-4-3 double play ended the threat.

While Lorain County missed on its opportunity, Butler didn’t.

With two outs in the fifth, a walk and Hanahan’s second single of the game put runners on the corners. Collin Massanelli scored on a wild pitch, while Hanahan scored on Herald’s RBI single to right to give the BlueSox a 4-1 lead.

Hanhan and Herald gave Brubaker fits the entire game, combining for five base hits and a pair of RBIs.

The frustration of missing out on scoring chances finally boiled over. After stranding a runner in scoring position in the fifth, Lorain County had runners on second and third with one out.

Trying to steal home with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Semler was thrown out to end the inning. He immediately jumped up stating he wasn’t tag. He was thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpire.

‘That’s a tough call and it’s always tough stealing home,’ Rhomberg said. ‘It looked like he had it … it was a close play and we didn’t get the call there. At least it was an aggressive mistake.’

The two-out bugaboo for Brubaker came again in the seventh. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Brubaker gave up triple and a single to push the lead to 5-1.

Brubaker, who came into the game went seven innings and gave up five runs on eight hits. He struck out six, but fell to 4-3.

Performing rock-solid all season, Brubaker is thrilled how it progressed for him.

‘I pitched great all year, it was a building process, Brubaker said. ‘I wanted to come in and keep my pitch count low … I kept the runs down. I’m happy with how I pitched this summer and hopefully I can carry into it next spring.’

Lorain County will play its final home game of the season Aug. 2 at the Pipe Yard against Butler. Box Score

Butler 8, Lorain County 1

Butler 000 220 130 – 8 10 1

Lorain County 100 000 000 – 1 54 2

Hitting: (B) Collin Massanelli (2), Ryan Hanahan (3), Cody Herald (2) Jeffrey Revesz, Stuart Levy, Mick Fennell; (LC) Cody Semler (2B), Nate Langhals (2), Tyler Bires,

W: Adam Bleday (5-3) L: J. T. Brubaker (4-3)

Records: Butler 37-19 , Lorain County 19-37

The Ironmen got on the board early, but couldn’t capitalize any other opportunities – including one in the bottom of the ninth – en route to a 3-1 loss to Springfield in Prospect League action July 27 at The Pipe Yard.

‘That’s kind of what (happens) with a young team,’ Lorain County Manager Joe Rhomberg said. ‘We are starting to see a lot more players which are younger now. It (lack of offense) happened earlier (in the season) too … the worse it gets they put a lot more pressure on themselves and then it seems to get worse. So you’ve got to try to get them to relax and stay loose.’

Like on July 25, Lorain County’s (18-34) offense started early.

Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Anthony Bova lined a single to center, but Springfield center fielder Corey Dempster misplayed the hop which allowed the ball to get pass him and put Bova at third base.

Logan Landon grounded out to second, but it scored Bova to give Lorain County a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

In the bottom of the second, Taylor Carlson tied it with a solo home run to left off of Justin Fritts.

The Sliders took the lead in the third with Zach Shira scoring on Will Schneider’s single.

Springfield pitch Chris Powell dodged threats in the second and fourth innings, but managed to get out of it. Using his breaking stuff, Powell managed to keep the Ironmen off-balance enough to throw six innings of one-run ball to pick up the win.

‘We kind of figured out a pattern out, but didn’t quite make the adjustments or at least make it hurt when we did,’ Rhomberg said. ‘He relied a lot on his off-speed. We had to sit back better and go the other way. We started to do, but we didn’t get the hits when we needed to even after the adjustment.’

Lorain County starter Fritts (2-3) also went six innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out five. The defense played nearly flawless when he was on the mound.

‘I think the start went well,’ Fritts said. ‘I’m just worried about getting ahead of the batters and mixing up my pitches more often. My defense played well behind me. I always use to try to strikeout everyone out. As I’ve gotten older, I would much rather have a one pitch at-bat than a three pitch at-bat.’

But a defensive miscue in the eighth allowed the Sliders to push their lead to 3-1. Carlson scored from third after Riley Spetz flied out to right field. However, the throw forced catcher Tyler Greiner to go up the third base line. By the time Greiner got the ball, Vince Frate – who was backing the play up – wasn’t able to get to home plate in time to stop Carlson from scoring.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Lorain County loaded the bases. But Alex Siddle struck out Bova to preserve the win.

While the second half hasn’t gone the Ironmen’s way, Rhomberg was happy with the way his defense played.

‘They (defense) played the way they should,’ he said. ‘They didn’t make errors, were in the right places and kept their focus the whole game.’

Lorain County travels to Butler July 28. Springfield 3, Lorain County 1

Springfield 011 000 010 – 3 10 1

Lorain County 100 000 000 – 1 7 2

Hitting: (S)Taylor Carlson (3), Will Schneider (2), Zach Shira (3), Corey Dempster, Michael Randle; (LC) Anthony Bova (2), Andrew Gronski, Billy Salem (3), Kyle Michalik.

W: Chris Powell (2-4); L: Justin Fritts (2-3); SV: Alex Siddle

Records: Springfield 13-38, Lorain County 18-34

The Ironmen got on the board early, but couldn’t capitalize any other opportunities – including one in the bottom of the ninth – en route to a 3-1 loss to Springfield in Prospect League action July 27 at The Pipe Yard.

‘That’s kind of what (happens) with a young team,’ Lorain County Manager Joe Rhomberg said. ‘We are starting to see a lot more players which are younger now. It (lack of offense) happened earlier (in the season) too … the worse it gets they put a lot more pressure on themselves and then it seems to get worse. So you’ve got to try to get them to relax and stay loose.’

Like on July 25, Lorain County’s (18-34) offense started early.

Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Anthony Bova lined a single to center, but Springfield center fielder Corey Dempster misplayed the hop which allowed the ball to get pass him and put Bova at third base.

Logan Landon grounded out to second, but it scored Bova to give Lorain County a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

In the bottom of the second, Taylor Carlson tied it with a solo home run to left off of Justin Fritts. The Sliders took the lead in the third with Zach Shira scoring on Will Schneider’s single.

Springfield pitch Chris Powell dodged threats in the second and fourth innings, but managed to get out of it. Using his breaking stuff, Powell managed to keep the Ironmen off-balance enough to throw six innings of one-run ball to pick up the win.

‘We kind of figured out a pattern out, but didn’t quite make the adjustments or at least make it hurt when we did,’ Rhomberg said. ‘He relied a lot on his off-speed. We had to sit back better and go the other way. We started to do, but we didn’t get the hits when we needed to even after the adjustment.’

Lorain County starter Fritts (2-3) also went six innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out five. The defense played nearly flawless when he was on the mound.

‘I think the start went well,’ Fritts said. ‘I’m just worried about getting ahead of the batters and mixing up my pitches more often. My defense played well behind me. I always use to try to strikeout everyone out. As I’ve gotten older, I would much rather have a one pitch at-bat than a three pitch at-bat.’

But a defensive miscue in the eighth allowed the Sliders to push their lead to 3-1. Carlson scored from third after Riley Spetz flied out to right field. However, the throw forced catcher Tyler Greiner to go up the third base line. By the time Greiner got the ball, Vince Frate – who was backing the play up – wasn’t able to get to home plate in time to stop Carlson from scoring.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Lorain County loaded the bases. But Alex Siddle struck out Bova to preserve the win.

While the second half hasn’t gone the Ironmen’s way, Rhomberg was happy with the way his defense played.

‘They (defense) played the way they should,’ he said. ‘They didn’t make errors, were in the right places and kept their focus the whole game.’

Lorain County travels to Butler July 28.

Five Ironmen errors and 11 Springfield hits taunted the Ironmen as they fell 11-4 in a game delayed by rain.

The Ironmen struck first in their share of the second inning as Texas native Cody Semler led off with a double and scored on an RBI groundout by Logan Landon.

Springfield responded immediately.

With one out, Will Schneider tripled deep to left-center and scored on an error by Ironmen third baseman Andrew Gronski to level the score at 1-1.

The tie didn’t last long as the Sliders scored four runs in the fourth inning. A pair of singles by Drew Harper and Riley Spetz set the table for A.J. Fritts, who drew a walk to load the bases.

With two outs, starting pitcher Devin Daugherty issued a walk to force home a run. The Ironmen’s third error of the evening by shortstop Addison Rospert proved to be problematic as Dane Saur singled to give the Sliders the 5-1 lead.

Reliever Kyle Michalk replaced Daugherty with two outs in the fifth inning, sealing Daugherty’s final line at four ? innings, yielding five runs on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts.

With a runner on first, Michalik struck the final batter of the inning out to prevent further damage.

Lorain County picked up one more run in the fifth inning as catcher Ryan Cooper doubled into the left field corner. Rospert advanced Cooper to third on a groundout and Gronski singled down the left field line to score Cooper, trimming Springfield’s lead to 5-2.

Cleveland native Carlos Ortiz did his part to bring the Ironmen even closer in the 6th inning. Ortiz’s hustle resulted in a lead-off triple to left before Landon singled him home, setting the score at 5-3. Once Tyler Greiner drew a walk, Springfield’s starting pitcher Tyler Feece exited the game. His replacement, Ben Krusen, managed to strike Cooper out looking before a passed ball pushed both runners into scoring position. With two outs, Gronski was robbed of a potential game-tying hit by Springfield left fielder Zach Shira, who made a diving catch to end the inning.

Things started to unravel for the Ironmen in the seventh inning as a single and an error generated an opportunity for Spetz. Spetz seized the chance, singling home both runs and Fritts followed with another double for the 8-3 lead. Another single and Gronski’s fourth error of the evening allowed two more runs before a double by Austin Muench scored the 10th and 11th runs for the Sliders.

A tough hop on a ground ball over the shortstop led to another Ironmen run in the 8th inning as Gronski singled home Greiner. Krusen converted the final two outs of the inning, marking the fifth straight inning in which the Ironmen stranded at least two baserunners.

Tyler Bires, typically a position player, pitched the ninth for the Ironmen. The Amherst native allowed one hit, struck out one and shattered a bat in his debut as he held the Sliders from scoring.

With the 11-4 lead, Springfield reliever Alex Siddle shut the door on the Ironmen in the bottom of the ninth, despite surrendering a leadoff hit to Semler.

A strong pitching performance was plagued by one rough inning, while the offense couldn’t kick it back into gear as Lorain County fell, 5-3, to West Virginia in Prospect League action July 25 at the Pipe Yard.

‘It seems like all year we don’t get that big hit,’ Lorain County manager Joe Rhomberg said. ‘Then we manage to make a mistake defensively, and we end up losing by one or two (runs).’

Lorain County’s (18-32) offense, which has struggled in recent games, got on the board in the first inning against West Virginia starter Cody Pope.

Pope hit Tyler Bires to start the inning. Bires stole second and went to third on the wild pitch. He scored on Andrew Gronski’s chopper off the plate.

The offense continued in the second inning.

Carlos Ortiz laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put runners at second and third with one out. Anthony Bova grounded out to second, but it scored Logan Landon to give the Ironmen a 2-0 lead.

Lorain County starter J.T. Brubaker cruised through the first four innings, allowing only one hit. But the fifth inning proved to be a stark reversal.

The inning started ominously.

Brubaker struck out Paul Trenhaile, but a wild pitch allowed Trenhaile to reach first. Taylor Kellner singled to right to put runners on the corners. Westyn Baylor flied out to left to score Trenhaile.

David Sheaffer hit a chopper to short, but the ball glanced off Cody Semler’s glove to put runners at first and second.

Another Brubaker wild pitch moved the runners up. The Miners tied the game, 2-2, on Grant Massey’s single to center. West Virginia took the lead on David Martinelli’s two-out single to left.

‘It wasn’t the best of hops (Semler’s error), but you hope to get at least one out of it,’ Rhomberg said. ‘We had bad luck that inning … a ball bounced over our first baseman’s head. The (hopper) to short kind of took off a little bit. They had two clean hits and scored four runs out of it.’

West Virginia’s lead was sliced to one in the sixth inning with Cody Semler doubling to left to lead off the inning. He scored on Landon’s groundout.

Brubaker (4-2) recovered from his rough fifth inning and ended up going 7 2/3 innings. He gave up only two earn runs, four hits, walked three and struck out four. It was another fantastic performance for Prospect League’s Pitcher of the Week.

‘He was a little wild early in the game,’ Rhomberg said. ‘(But) he’s been great for us. He just keeps getting better and better, stronger and stronger. His velocity is still up (low 90s). He has one more start and I hope he finishes strong.’

The Miners tacked on a run in the top of the ninth, thanks to a pair of miscues by Lorain County.

Though it was another tough loss to swallow, Rhomberg sees his team going in the right direction.

‘It’s a younger team on the defensive side so they are learning and getting better,’ Rhomberg said. ‘Our mistakes are becoming less mental now. I can live with physical mistakes. That stuff happens and it’s part of the game. I think overall we are getting better.’

Lorain County hosts Slippery Rock July 26.

Hromada, who graduated this past year from Elyria Catholic, was contacted in May by Ironmen General Manager Pat McGannon, who had heard about Jake and his broadcasting talents from his time at Elyria Catholic.

‘He (Pat) actually called Elyria Catholic and said, ‘Hey, we’re interested in this kid. We need a broadcaster for the summer. We want to meet with him … we want to see if he is interested,’ Hromada said.

Hromada jumped at the opportunity to broadcast over the Internet for the Ironmen. He said that he was searching for a broadcasting gig for the summer, but was turned down by radio stations for internships since he wasn’t officially a college student.

‘I didn’t even know the job existed,’ Hromada said. ‘The fact that they called me was really nice and you feel kind of good inside about yourself.’

Hromada identifies himself as the No. 2 person when it comes to the radio broadcasting duties for the Ironmen games. He works alongside lead broadcaster Michael Bull.

‘He (Bull) lets me be independent a little bit on the air … we’re very conversational on the air too throughout the whole ballgame,’ Hromada said. ‘He and I have really developed chemistry over the summer.’

When broadcasting, Hromada is the color commentator in innings one through three and seven through nine. He calls play-by-play in innings four through six.

On top of having the chance to broadcast, Hromada says the opportunity to also travel has been one of his favorite experiences while working with the Ironmen.

‘We get some games where we can go on the road and we immediately come home. Some nights, you don’t get home until 1, 2 in the morning,’ Hromada said. ‘It’s really cool going out to places like Butler, Pennsylvania, Richmond, Indiana, Chillicothe, Beckley, West Virginia. The fact you get to see your team in other ballparks that are nice such as this one (The Pipe Yard), it’s really cool.’

With Lorain County’s season coming to a close, Hromada will prepare for his freshman year at Ohio University. He will major in journalism and hopes to continue his broadcasting career.

‘I spoke with the assistant athletic director down there, and right now, I have an internship in place with them. They actually gave me a lot of opportunities that will be presented to me in the future,’ Hromada said. ‘They already have a broadcaster, so obviously, I can’t call sports down there. They did present some things like sideline reporting for football games and they even brought up volleyball for the campus cable station. Anything I can get my hands on down there will be nice. Right now, they know of me and they’re expecting me to work hard down there.’