NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers drop series finale

May 24, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-- The Lake Erie Crushers were two outs away from sweeping the Schaumburg Boomers on Sunday night, but the Boomers won in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run walkoff single to take the series finale, 5-4.

The loss for the Crushers (4-5) deprived them of what would have been their first sweep of the season, while the win for the Boomers (6-4), marked their first victory of the season at home.

Lake Erie never trailed at any point in the contest, until Craig Massey belted the walkoff two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, in a game where the two teams endured a 33-minute rain delay after completing the first inning.

After the rain delay, the Crusher offense went to work, scoring twice in the top of the second inning to take the lead. Anderson Hidalgo started the inning with a double, and Ty Nelson followed with a free pass. A balk allowed them both to advance, and Nick Zaharion drove in Hidalgo on a groundout. With the infield drawn in, Aaron Lindgren stroked a RBI single to right to give the Crushers a 2-0 lead.

The Boomers cut that deficit in half in the bottom of the third. Mike Schulze started the inning with a single to center field, and an error allowed him to advance to second before Jordan Dean's sacrifice bunt moved him over to third. Alexi Colon drove him home on a RBI single to right.

Lake Erie tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead. Kevin Franchetti walked to start the inning, before Frank Desico singled to right field. Juan Sanchez's sacrifice bunt moved them both over and Jose Barraza brought them both home on his second double of the night, which his third extra base hit in his last two games.

Another error contributed to Schaumburg's second run of the night. Dean walked to start the bottom of the sixth inning, and an errant pickoff attempt at first base allowed him to reach third, before scoring on Ryan Tuntland's groundout.

Hunter Adkins started the game for the Crushers and pitched well, allowing just a pair of runs, only one earned on five hits through seven innings, but the Boomers did a lot of their damage in the final two innings.

Tuntland struck again for the Boomers in the eighth inning, as he stepped in with the bases loaded and one out, driving in a run on a sac fly RBI to right. The next batter, Justin Vasquez hit a bullet to the gap in right-center, which would have tied the game for sure, and perhaps given Schaumburg the lead, but Justin Cureton made an amazing diving catch to end the inning.

The bottom of the ninth started with a leadoff single from Tillman Pugh, before Stephen Rogers walked on four pitches. Mike Valadez dropped a sacrifice bunt down to push them both over, setting up Massey's game winning two-run single to right.

Clark Labitan (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings in relief, and allowed just a single while fanning two along the way to earn the win. Trevor Longfellow (0-1) was used for a fourth game in a row, and took the loss, allowing both runs in the ninth.

Barraza and Lindgren paced the Crushers offensively, as they both hit safely multiple times on the night, turning in a pair of 2-for-4 performances along the way. Hidalgo and Nelson both paced the Crushers with eight hits on the road trip. Hidalgo hit .320 (8-for-25) on the roadie with six runs and five RBIs, while Nelson hit .363 (8-for-22) on the trip with six runs and drove in a pair.

The Crushers are off on Monday, but will return home to begin a three-game series with the Evansville Otters at All Pro Freight Stadium on Tuesday night. Right-hander Jason Wilson (0-1, 4.09) will start for the Crushers, while the Otters will throw left-hander Efrain Nieves (1-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

The Lake Erie Crushers, the 2009 Frontier League Champions, and 2011 Frontier League Organization of the year, play ball at All Pro Freight Stadium, a 5,000 capacity stadium located in Avon, Ohio. The Frontier League is an independent baseball league with 14 teams operating throughout the Midwest. Season tickets for the 2015 season are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

Check out the Lake Erie Crushers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...

Frontier League Stories from May 24, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Lake Erie Crushers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central