Lorain County Ironmen owner Kevin Rhomberg talks about host familys. The Ironmen are in need of host familys for this year's baseball team.

Ironmen owner Kevin Rhomberg talks about season tickets for the Lorain County Ironmen baseball team this year.

LORAIN — There was excitement in the air at the Lorain County Ironmen offices on Thursday as Lorain’s Prospect League team had their open house, hosted by the team’s part-owner Kevin Rhomberg, team manager Eric Cormell and assistant coach Joe Charboneau.

The Prospect League team Ironmen, who formally were named the North Coast Knights last season, was purchased by Rhomberg, a former Cleveland Indian, and partner Bob Schenosky, who runs a Mentor-based company — RS Entertainment LLC. They will play a 56 game schedule with 28 home games played at the Pipe Yard. The league, which is an elite wood bat summer league for college players with at least one year of eligibility, has sent over 175 players to Major League Baseball.

Rhomberg could hardly contain his excitement about the upcoming season. He plans to have fireworks every Friday night, a diamond dig promotion, a food vs. fan promotions sponsored by Mutt and Jeff’s, a Metro Park day, bring your pet to the game day and Snoopy’s 60th Birthday celebration — sponsored by Cedar Point, amongst other promotions throughout the season.

"We’re very excited about it," said Rhomberg, who played his college baseball at Lewis University and then the College of St. Francis before the Indians drafted him in the 14th round in the 1977 amateur baseball draft. "We’re really getting the ball rolling. With the fireworks on the Friday nights and all the events, it will be exciting. We’re really trying to make it the affordable family entertainment at the Pipe Yard."

Rhomberg also has a crew installing a new concession stand underneath the main concourse and a 80x20-foot party deck down the third base line, along with a berm-seating area down the right field line, where you can bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on top of hill.

Eric Cormell, who was selected to manage the team, just completed his second season as assistant coach at Oberlin College. He served as the team’s hitting and base-running instructor and also coached first base. Cormell, a three-sport athlete at the University of Akron, was also the head coach at Nordonia High School for a season. Cormell played four years of professional baseball.

He too is excited about the opportunity.

"I’m kind of in a similar boat as the players," Cormell said. "I’m looking to progress in my career as a coach. Any chance you can get to do summer collegiate baseball where you’re able to work with some of the best players in the country and show what you can do on the field as a manager or a coach, it helps build your resume and furthers your career as well."

Cormell’s main assistant coach will be the ever-popular former Cleveland Indian Joe Charboneau. Charboneau, who made his debut with the Indians in 1980, and finished with a .289 batting average with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs — earning him the American League Rookie of the Year award. His second season was filled with injuries and Charboneau wasn’t able to live up to the hype. Two back surgeries halted the rest of his career and was released in 1983.

His goal is to teach what he wished he knew back then.

"You don’t have to be a number one draft choice to go on from college," Charboneau said. "There’s independent leagues now so there’s a lot more opportunities to play pro ball. I want to give them something from hitting that they can take and use the rest of their career. I was a late-round draft choice, I was released before I made the big leagues. I was out of ball before. There are second and third chances, you just got to keep battling and not to ever give up on your dream."

Charboneau is focused on what he wants to teach.

"My role as Ironmen coach is to really instill some confidence in these kids, make their summer fun, make their summer safe and teach them some stuff and make them better citizens and better baseball players as far as their on-field conduct. Beside that, I want to meet people in Lorain. Get out, support us, it gives you a unique opportunity. Some of these kids you’ll see in this league are going to play in the big leagues someday. It’s a great opportunity to bring your kids, get some autographs, be around some college kids, and just enjoy it."

Season tickets are still available for just $99 for the season. The team is still looking for host families. Host families are needed to house out of town players and will receive a pair of season tickets. If interested in tickets or if you want to be a host family, go to www.lcironmenbaseball.com.

Stay tuned for players and coaches previews, along with a team outlook on the upcoming season of Lorain County Ironmen Baseball.

The Lorain County Ironmen will host an open house on May 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at their Lorain offices. Attending the open house will be the Ironmen coaches and staff including Eric Cormell and Joe Charboneau.

The Ironmen’s offices are located at 737 Broadway. The open house will allow the community the opportunity to meet the coaches and staff and ask any questions that they may have. Season Tickets will also be available for purchase. Anybody interested in being a host family for the summer can also sign up at the open house. Host families will receive a pair of season tickets for the 2010 season.

The team will play a total of 56 games this summer with 28 scheduled for the Pipe Yard. The Lorain County Ironmen are a member of the Prospect League, an elite wood bat summer league for college players with at least one year of eligibility in college left. The league is one of the several elite summer leagues in the country and has sent over 175 players to the Major Leagues.

The Ironmen are set to play their first game on June 4 at 7:05 p.m. at the Pipe Yard.