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Lake Erie Crushers

Gates and Saylor Honored as Frontier League All-Star Teams, Awards Announced

September 2, 2010 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Catcher Charlie Lisk of the Gateway Grizzlies, starting pitcher Joe Augustine of the Southern Illinois Miners, starting pitcher Dustin Williams of the Windy City ThunderBolts, and field manager Gera Alvarez of the Oakland County Cruisers headline the Frontier League's 2010 Post-Season All-Star Team and award winners. The Southern Illinois Miners repeated as Organization of the Year, while Ryan Gates of the Lake Erie Crushers was named Executive of the Year and Drew Saylor of the Crushers won the Fran Riordan Citizenship Award.

Charlie Lisk was voted the Morgan Burkhart Award winner as Most Valuable Player along with being voted the catcher on the All-Star Team for the third consecutive season. Charlie recently set the Frontier League's career home run record and is currently leading the League with 87 RBI while ranking second with 21 home runs and third with his .315 batting average.

Joe Augustine won the Brian Tollberg Award as Pitcher of the Year. Joe leads the Frontier League with his 1.97 ERA and 121 strikeouts while being tied for third with ten wins on the season and has helped pitch Southern Illinois to their first division title and the top seed in the Frontier League playoffs.

Dustin Williams was voted the Jason Simontacchi Award winner as Rookie of the Year. Williams, who made his professional debut in June out of Oklahoma City University, has a 7-3 record and 2.41 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 100.2 innings for the East Division leading ThunderBolts.

Gera Alvarez won the Rogers Hanners Award as Manager of the Year. Gera has led the Oakland County Cruisers to a club-record 52 wins, a ten game improvement over 2009, and has the Cruisers tied for the East Division Wild Card spot despite their playing the bulk of the 2010 season as a road team.

The Southern Illinois Miners attracted over 200,000 fans for the fourth consecutive season, finishing the regular season with an average attendance of 4,253 fans. The Miners were also host of the 2010 Frontier League All-Star Game.

Ryan Gates has the Lake Erie Crushers in position to surpass the club's 2009 attendance this weekend. In their second season of existence, Lake Erie has seen increases in both revenue and attendance at All Pro Freight Stadium, and will host the 2011 All-Star Game.

Drew Saylor was honored for his work in northeast Ohio as the Citizenship Award winner. Drew, who also serves as a volunteer coach for Cleveland State University, is in his second season with the Crushers and fifth season overall in professional baseball.

The complete Post-Season All-Star Team and award winners are:

1B - Joash Brodin - Oakland County Cruisers

2B - Gilberto Mejia - Windy City ThunderBolts

3B - Daniel Cox - Normal CornBelters

SS - Stephen Shults - Florence Freedom

C - Charlie Lisk - Gateway Grizzlies

DH - Chase Burch - Traverse City Beach Bums

OF - Stephen Holdren - River City Rascals

OF - Jereme Milons - Southern Illinois Miners

OF - Jason Patton - Gateway Grizzlies

SP - Joe Augustine - Southern Illinois Miners

RP - P.J. Zocchi - Oakland County Cruisers

Morgan Burkhart Award (MVP) - Charlie Lisk, Gateway Grizzlies

Brian Tollberg Award (Pitcher of the Year) - Joe Augustine, Southern Illinois Miners

Jason Simontacchi Award (Rookie of the Year) - Dustin Williams, Windy City ThunderBolts

Roger Hanners Award (Manager of the Year) - Gera Alvarez, Oakland County Cruisers

Fran Riordan Award (Citizenship) - Drew Saylor, Lake Erie Crushers

Coach of the Year - Randy Martz, Gateway Grizzlies

Trainer of the Year - Geof Manzo, Gateway Grizzlies

Groundskeeper of the Year - Ben Young, Gateway Grizzlies

Newspaper of the Year - The Daily Republican (Marion, Illinois)

Writer of the Year - Steve Millar, SouthtownStar (Tinley Park, Illinois)

Broadcaster of the Year - Joe Pott, Gateway Grizzlies

Clubbie of the Year - Denny Dame, Traverse City Beach Bums

Executive of the Year - Ryan Gates, Lake Erie Crushers

Organization of the Year - Southern Illinois Miners

Umpire of the Year - Tony Maners

Voting for awards was done by general managers, coaching staffs, and local media in all 12 Frontier League markets.

The Frontier League concludes its 18th season this weekend, with Divisional Series playoff games beginning on Thursday, September 9. More information can be found at www.frontierleague.com.

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Frontier League Stories from September 2, 2010


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