Ironmen’s losing streak hits 6 after doubleheader sweep

LORAIN — Lorain County manager Joe Rhomberg isn’t an astronomer, but he knew Wednesday was the longest day of the year.
Rhomberg didn’t figure this out by charting the position of the sun in the northern sky. He just felt it in his gut after his Ironmen were swept by Butler in a doubleheader — 2-1 in the opener and 6-5 in Game 2 — at the Pipe Yard.
The losses dropped Lorain County 6½ games out of first place and kept the Ironmen only a half-game above cellar-dwelling Slippery Rock in the Prospect League’s Eastern Division. The Ironmen have lost six straight.
“We know what the standings look like and we really aren’t in the first-half race at this point,” Rhomberg said. “But we all know there is a lot of talent on this team. It’s just a matter of figuring out where players are comfortable and learning from our mistakes.”
In the second game, Butler (12-8) jumped out to a 5-2 lead with Avon resident and St. Ignatius graduate Neal Jacobs scoring runs in the second and third innings en route to a
4-for-4 game. Jacobs also had a pair of doubles and hits in his last five at-bats going back to the first game.
The Ironmen (6-13) scored twice in the first inning and two more times in the fifth. Scott White had a pair of RBIs for Lorain County in Game 2.
Lorain County left eight runners on base in the second game and 15 in the course of the doubleheader.
“Situational hitting is something we have struggled with over the past week and it’s just something we need to keep working on,” Rhomberg said.
Starting pitcher Robert Sakosky took the loss, allowing six hits and five runs in only three innings. A quartet of relievers finished up for Lorain County, holding the BlueSox to a run over the last four innings.
Andrew Elliott started and went 42⁄3 innings for Butler, with David Kucenic coming out of the bullpen to pick up the win, his first of the year. Blue Sox third baseman Kyle Petty took his turn on the mound with two outs in the seventh and retired third baseman John Koepf for the final out of the game to earn his first save of the season.
Vermilion’s Adam Beach was a tough-luck loser in Game 1. Beach, who plays for Lake Erie College, dominated the BlueSox for six innings, but Butler came back to score a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to pull out a 2-1 win.
Beach entered the seventh having retired 13 batters in a row before Butler third baseman Kyle Petty led off the seventh with an opposite-field single to right. Petty was bunted to second by Matt Albaugh, then Beach allowed a single to Eric Hess to put runners on the corners with one out.
Rhomberg made the call to the bullpen for Zach Speer, who was one strike from picking up the save when Jacobs lined a single to center field that scored both BlueSox runs.
Beach (1-3) had his best performance of the season, striking out seven while giving up just three hits and a walk in 61⁄3 innings. After allowing a second-inning double to Hess, Beach threw a first-pitch strike to the next 17 batters.
Butler’s Game 1 starter — Chris Marangon — matched Beach pitch for pitch, going 61⁄3 innings of six-hit ball to earn his first victory of the summer.
Adam Dian earned his Prospect League-leading sixth save for Butler in the first game.
Koepf went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the first game for Lorain County.
“Beach pitched well for us today and it was just not his fastball that was working, he was getting his breaking pitches in for strikes,” Rhomberg said. “Last time out he got hit in the arm with a line drive and when he started shaking that arm in the seventh inning, I knew I had to get him out of there as soon as I could.”
Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135
or ctsports@chroniclet.com.