Baseball Falls To Edison State In 2025 Home Opener

March 18, 2025 - - The Lorain County Community College baseball team dropped both games of their home-opening doubleheader against Edison State Community College at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky, Ohio, on Tuesday. The games were a makeup for their scheduled doubleheader, which was supposed to take place on Saturday, March 15, 2025, but was postponed due to weather.

Game 1 Recap:

Edison State took an early lead in Game 1, but the Commodores responded with two runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to back-to-back ground-rule doubles. Colin McCrone (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood HS) drove in Jacob Sanders (Columbia Station, Ohio/Columbia HS), and then moments later, Travis Gentry (Huntsville, Alabama/Huntsville HS) doubled to left, scoring McCrone and cutting Edison State's lead to 7-2. Despite getting on the board, Edison scored six runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding lead, putting the Commodores in danger of a mercy-rule loss.

LCCC continued to push offensively in the fifth to stave off the mercy rule. McCrone showcased patience at the plate, drawing a bases-loaded walk that allowed Jadon Tucker (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown Madison HS) to score. Shortly after, Jackson Frame (Newcastle, Australia/Callaghan HS) roped a line-drive double to left, plating Gio Crawford (Reno, Nevada/Earl Wooster HS) and Sanders, while McCrone advanced to third, keeping the Commodores in the game.

Jonathan Lockard (Hartville, Ohio/Lake HS) started the first game and went 3.1 innings with three strikeouts. ReDon Jones (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Cornerstone Christian HS) pitched in relief, striking out two over 2.2 innings.

Game 2 Recap:

LCCC found itself in an early hole again in Game 2, trailing 5-0 until McCrone crushed a three-run homer to left field after Crawford singled and Sanders walked. The momentum carried into the fourth when Nick Schuster (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria HS) led off the inning with a single and then scored on Crawford's triple. Crawford scampered home on a wild pitch to cut Edison's lead down to three, 5-2.

However, Edison responded with a big fourth inning, capitalizing on walks, wild pitches, and a sacrifice fly to add three more runs. They struck again in the fifth with two more runs and then another three in the sixth.

Despite trailing late, LCCC showed resilience. Gentry doubled home McCrone in the seventh, and Nick Jiminian (Bronx, New York/Mooresville HS), who entered as a pinch-runner, stole second before scoring on a single by Schuster. Schuster went 3-for-4 with 1 double, 2 RBIs, and 1 stolen base in Game 2.

Colin McCrone had an excellent overall performance in both games, going 4-for-6 with 1 double, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, and 1 walk. He started Game 2 for LCCC and went 3 innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs. Yaniel Valentin (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS) and Luke Decker (Elyria, Ohio/Midview HS) pitched in relief in Game 2. Decker went 3.1 innings with 1 strikeout, allowing only two earned runs.

Next Up:

The Commodores will travel to Penn State Beaver on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 for a doubleheader in Monaca, PA.  First pitch is at 1 p.m.