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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Boomer? More Like Broomer - Crushers Finish Sweep of Schaumburg with Espinal's Big Day

August 11, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Avon, OH - It is time to break out the brooms for the first time since July 14th!

On Sunday, August 11, the Lake Erie Crushers (44-33) took down the Schaumburg Boomers (38-38) in the series finale, 4-3. Not only did the Crushers win the series, but they pushed down Schaumburg in the West Division. Lake Erie now sits comfortably in third place with a 5.5 game cushion over the Boomers.

Schaumburg LHP Jacob Smith was rolling on the mound early, but C John Tuccillo put the first run on the board in the 3rd. Tuccillo teed up the first pitch and belted a moonshot over the wall in left for a solo jack, his third of the season.

The Boomers were unhappy with the run given up and put three of their own on the board just a half-inning later. DH Christian Fedko got the scoreline moving, recording an RBI single into left field. He was followed by 1B Anthony Calarco who belted a two-run RBI double into the left-center field gap that put Schaumburg up 3-1.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, CF Sam Franco laced a double to kickstart the action for the home team before 2B Walner Espinal singled into right field for the second Lake Erie run of the game. Just a batter later, SS Alberti Chavez sent a ball right down Broadway and into center field for a game-tying RBI single, knotting the game 3-3.

Lake Erie, needing a big swing to push them over the top, found it in the 7th. It was Espinal once again, this time for a double off the wall to score 3B Logan Thomason and giving Lake Erie a 4-3 edge.

The Crushers bullpen did an excellent job backing up starter LHP Darrien Ragins, who finished five innings in his first start coming off the IL. His final line: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 6 K on 92 pitches.

Out of the pen RHP Leonardo Rodriguez, LHP Cal Carver, and RHP Sammy Tavarez combined for three scoreless innings through the 6th-8th innings. Tavarez pitched for the third straight game and pulled off another strikeout after falling behind the leadoff hitter 3-0. Henceforth, from this day forward, a 3-0 count turned strikeout will be referred to as a "Sammy".

Lake Erie went on to protect their lead into the ninth inning, where the bullpen turned to closer Trevor Kuncl to finish the job. He recorded two strikeouts to pull away with a Crushers win, picking up his 18th save of the year.

Jared Lemieux spoke after the game saying, "Sometimes chemistry can beat talent. We've had a lot of guys banged up this series, but the depth pieces have done an excellent job stepping up when we needed them to. This is a huge series win for us."

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

Schaumburg Boomers 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 1

Lake Erie Crushers 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 X 4 7 1

The Crushers will now go on the road for two series, the first coming up against the Gateway Grizzlies, beginning on Tuesday, August 13, in Sauget, IL. The first pitch is set to be tossed at 7:30 p.m. EST. After taking on the Grizzlies in a three-game spell, the team will clash up against the Washington Wild Things in Washington, PA, kicking off on Friday, August 16. Currently, the Wild Things and Grizzlies sit one and two respectively in the Frontier League West Division standings.

Interested in attending? Tickets can be found at the link provided join us at the ballpark? No worries! You can stream the Lake Erie Crushers all season long at FloSports.tv.

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