It would’ve been so easy for the Lorain County Ironmen to concede the game after the first half-inning of play.
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.
