LORAIN — There will be a lot of new faces this year, along with five familiar ones, when the Lorain County Ironmen take the field at The Pipe Yard for their home opener against the Butler Blue Sox on Friday.

The Ironmen, who went 21-35 in their inaugural year after one year as the North Coast Knights, are playing in their third season in the Prospect League, a summer wood-bat collegiate league that features young up-and-coming college prospects.

The biggest splash of new players are a trio from Ohio State — Brad Hallberg (Barron, Wisc.), Steel Russell (Chestnut Hill Academy) and Ben Bokor (Lincoln).

Hallberg was the starting first baseman for the Buckeyes, where he was fifth in batting with a .268 average. He hit two doubles, a home run, 13 RBIs and scored 26 runs. His brother Mark Hallberg was a 9th round draft choice of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007.

Russell was one of two starting catchers at OSU this season. He played in 17 games and batted .200 with two doubles and had three RBIs. His father John Russell spent 10 years in the Major Leagues as a catcher and is currently the third base coach of the Baltimore Orioles.

Bokor, a left-handed pitcher, was a red-shirt freshman this season at OSU. He was a Mizuno All-Ohioan and district player of the year his senior year of high school.

The Ironmen will also have plenty of local ties with Amherst’s Ryan Rua (Lake Erie College), Vermilion’s Adam Beach (Lake Erie College), Elyria’s Nolan Neuschaefer (Baldwin-Wallace), Elyria Catholic’s Andrew Kubuski (Bowling Green), Avon native Shane Sullivan (Wheeling Jesuit/St. Ignatius), and Perkins’ Cody Koch (Kent State) and Spencer Bryant (Kent State).

Rua was named to the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team for the second straight season after leading the Storm with a .400 batting average, 16 doubles, five home runs and 44 RBIs. He also stole 19 bases. He was named the fourth best draft prospect in Division II by Baseball America.

Beach went 4-4 with 49 strikeouts at Lake Erie College this season, after transferring from Cleveland State. His four wins led the team and he even threw a one-hitter against Wayne State, earning him GLIAC Pitcher of the Week.

Neuschaefer brings some more speed to the Ironmen. From his leadoff position, Neuschaefer led the Yellow Jackets with a .308 batting average. He also had four doubles, six triples and 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts. He scored 33 runs and had 11 RBIs.

Kubuski was a starting outfielder for the Falcons this year as a true freshman. He batted .273 with eight doubles, two triples, two home runs, 22 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

Sullivan, a left-handed pitcher from Avon that went to St. Ignatius, made 20 relief appearances for the Cardinals. He went 1-5 with a 4.55 ERA, which includes three saves. He also struck out 21 batters in 27 2/3 innings pitched.

Koch and Bryant, who played together at Perkins, are teammates at Kent State. Koch, who transferred from Cincinnati, played in 32 games for the Golden Flashes and started in 16 of them. He batted .130 with one double, scored two runs and had two RBIs. Bryant appeared in eight games on the mound, including one start. He went 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA in 13 2/3 innings pitched.

There are five players returning from last year’s team is Michael Grieco (St. Bonaventure/Washington Township, N.J.), Jeff Cola (Toledo/Strongsville), James DiBiasio (Ohio Wesleyan/Westlake), Jason Pascuzzi (Cincinnati/Strongsville) and Nate Antone (Potomac State/Vandergrift, PA).

Grieco started in all 43 games for the Bonnies, who went 21-22. He batted .297 with three home runs, five doubles, two triples, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored.

Cola played in 31 games, including 21 starts with the Rockets, who went 25-25 overall. He batted .225 with a home run, three doubles, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored.

DiBiasio, who is the nephew of Cleveland Indians Director of public relations Bob DiBiasio, started 40 games with the Battling Bishops, who went 25-16. He batted .287 with four doubles, two triples and 18 RBIs and 29 runs scored this season.

Pascuzzi made 14 appearances on the mound for the Bearcats, who went 28-23. In his 14 relief spots, he pitched a total of 22 innings and totaled 14 strikeouts. In his Cincinnati debut on Feb. 19, he pitched three scoreless innings, striking out four against Illinois.

Antone played in 35 games with the Catamounts, who went 33-9. He had a 28-game hitting streak this season and batted .445 with 20 doubles, three triples, 44 RBIs and 40 runs scored.

Other players include: Cameron Palmer (Toledo/Canton McKinley), Nate Tomaszewski (LeTourneau University/Dove Canyon, Calif.), Kevin Hughes (Buffalo/Lockport, N.Y.), Michael Burke (Buffalo/St. Ignatius), Zak Blair (Mercyhurst/Jefferson Area), Sean Blackburn (Ohio Dominican/Wadsworth) and Sam Alvis (Louisiana Tech/Jasper, Texas).

Palmer went 0-1 with a save in 11 mound appearances, including three starts with the Rockets. He had a 3.86 ERA in 28 innings pitched, including 23 strikeouts.

Tomaszewski, who is from California and plays college baseball in Texas, started in all 40 games at LaTourneau. He had the second-highest batting average, batting .366 with four home runs and 28 RBIs. He also hit 12 doubles and a triple for the Yellow Jackets, who went 19-21.

Hughes and Burke, both pitchers, were teammates at Buffalo. Hughes went 2-4 with a 6.59 ERA in 21 appearances, which included two starts. Burke went 1-3 with a 6.39 ERA in seven appearances, including six starts.

Blair started in all 49 games at Mercyhurst, who went 39-10. He had the team’s fourth-highest batting average, batting .365. He had seven doubles, four triples, one home run, 38 RBIs and 35 runs scored. He was also 8-for-8 on stolen bases.

Blackburn, a freshman right-handed pitcher, went 5-2 in seven starts for the Panthers and had a 4.91 ERA. He also recorded 32 strikeouts, averaging just under seven per game.

There’s another Cleveland Indians connection in Sam Alvis. He is the grandson of Indians legend Max Alvis, who played for the Indians from 1962-’69. Sam appeared in 18 games on the mound in relief for the Bulldogs and sported a 3.31 ERA in 16 1/3 innings pitched.

swalker@MorningJournal.com