LORAIN – The Springfield Sliders entered the game with a collective ERA above 6.00, but the Lorain County Ironmen couldn’t take advantage as they beat themselves July 26.
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.
