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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers blank 'Bolts

July 31, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie Crushers scored their fourth shutout victory of the season on Thursday night, as they defeated the Windy City Thunderbolts, 5-0 at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The victory for the Crushers (35-30) was their sixth in eight games at home since the All Star Break, while the loss for the Thunderbolts (24-40) drops their record to 9-17 in the month of July.

Lake Erie used the trio of Todd Kibby (6-2), Brad Duffy and Ryan Connolly to score Lake Erie's fourth shutout victory of the season. The Thunderbolts not only did not score, but they did not have a single runner each third base.

The Crushers used the long ball to snap a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. Juan Sanchez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a one out single to right, and Ryan Hutchison followed with a two-run bomb to right center. The homer was his second in as many days, and his sixth of the season.

Craig Hertler began the bottom of the third with an infield single, extending his on base streak to 18 games, and his hitting streak to 10. Two batters later, back-to-back walks were issued to Andrew Davis and Anderson Hidalgo, loading the bases for Vince Mejia. Mejia stroked a RBI single to right, and Sanchez followed with a two-run single to left.

Not only did Hutchison hit a homer, but he took one away as well. In the top of the sixth inning with a runner on first, Kyle Robinson hit a ball deep to right, but Hutchison jumped up at the wall and brought what would have been Robinson's 11th homer of the year back, to preserve the Lake Erie shutout.

Kibby tossed seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits while fanning six batters along the way to snag the victory. Duffy and Connolly both tossed a single scoreless inning of action. Josh Spence (0-6) went the distance, but took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits over eight innings.

Hertler paced the Crushers at the top of the order, going 2-for-4 on the night, while Hidalgo reached three times in four plate appearances in a 1-for-2 performance, extending his on base streak to 13 games. Mejia's RBI single in the third inning extended his on base streak to 14 games, and Hutchison's two-run homer extended his hitting streak to seven.

The Crushers will finish their three-game series against the Windy City Thunderbolts at All Pro Freight Stadium on Friday night. Righty Zac Treece (3-3, 3.29) will throw for the Crushers, and the Thunderbolts will counter with right-hander Eli Anderson (1-5, 6.81). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

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