LORAIN — It’s been said that every time you go to the ballpark there’s a chance you could see something you’ve never seen before.
Lorain County’s 2-1 win over Chillicothe at The Pipe Yard on Saturday night was a prime example. The game featured two catcher’s interference calls, a balk, five wild pitches, a hit-by-pitch, four errors, a lost fly in the lights, a botched pop up that still produced a force out, three double plays and outstanding pitching from both Amherst’s Tony Naso and Vermilion’s Adam Beach.
Both teams are 3-6 in the second half of the Prospect League season.
The Ironmen essentially won the game when Chillicothe’s Brad Goldberg balked home Elyria’s John Koepf with the winning run in the sixth inning. The Ohio State product tried the old fake to third and throw to first routine for the second time in the game.
That all took place after a marathon 11-pitch at-bat to start the game when Chillicothe’s Mike Nadratowski fouled off pitch after pitch before drawing a walk off Naso, who retired the next nine hitters.
Beach came on in the sixth inning, after Naso threw a splendid one-hitter through five, and hit the first batter he faced — ninth hitter Vinnie Booker — and nearly the second one as well, putting Booker at second before a sacrifice bunt advanced Booker to third with one out.
Beach struck out Kevin Zak but the pitch was in the dirt and got away from catcher Jesse Carriere with Booker scoring to tie the game. Beach gave up a hit to Dan Zuchowski but retired the next two batters.
He survived a rocky seventh inning that saw Carriere commit catcher’s interference twice to load the bases. He survived the eighth inning when three Lorain County fielders surrounded but did not catch a routine fly to right to put Zuchowski on second to start the inning.
“It’s one thing I’ve been trying to work on,” Beach said. “It’s kinda been my weak point — letting my emotions get the best of me. I’ve got to keep my head. I think I can pitch pretty well in this league.”
Beach has been his own worst enemy at times this year but he finished off the win by retiring the final six hitters after Zuchowski’s double had dropped in short right field in front of Sam Alvis. First baseman Cody Koch and second baseman Koepf were near enough to possibly gobble it up as well.
“Beach came out of the pen — obviously our No. 1 starter,” said Ironmen manager Joe Rhomberg, his team 11-28 overall. “We have so many starters coming off the all-star break. They’re all getting kind of log-jammed. It was kind of like a split start with Naso and Beach. He hits the first guy, wild pitches the next guy and strikes out a guy with a wild pitch and you kind of think, ‘Oh, no.’”
Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.
TODAY
• WHO: Lorain County Ironmen vs. Butler BlueSox
• TIME: 1:05
• WHERE: The Pipe Yard, Lorain
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