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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers cap 5-1 road trip with sweep of Traverse City

August 17, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - The Lake Erie Crushers used a strong start from right-hander Zac Treece to sweep the Traverse City Beach Bums 3-1 at Wuerfel Park Sunday night.

The Crushers (47-33) are now 12-3 in the month of August, and have taken 14 of their last 17 overall. Lake Erie has won 9 of the 10 series they've played since the All-Star Break. The loss for the Beach Bums (32-49) was their fifth in a row.

Zac Treece, starting for the first time since August 1st, dominated all night in helping his team take home the victory. Treece pitched eight innings of four-hit ball, allowing just a single run. The All-Star has been terrific for Lake Erie in the rotation and out of the bullpen.

The Crushers, who did not trail in this series, jumped out to an early lead once again Sunday. They tallied single runs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings to help them secure the sweep.

Andrew Davis got the scoring going early. Trevor Stevens walked with one out, stole second, and advanced to third base on an error. Davis then hit a ball into the gap that bounced over the fence to plate Stevens and give Lake Erie the 1-0 lead.

The Beach Bums recorded their lone run against Treece in the bottom of the third. Scott Woodward singled to lead off the inning, stole second base, and advanced to third on an error by shortstop Juan Sanchez. The very next batter Jeff Deblieux hit a deep fly ball to right field to plate Woodward and even the score.

Any momentum Traverse City had quickly vanished moments later. Vincent Mejia powered an 0-1 pitch over the fence to put Lake Erie back on top, his third home run of the series.

Treece set down the Beach Bums in order in the bottom half of the inning, before Andrew Davis struck again. Davis hit a sacrifice fly to center field with runners on the corners and nobody out in the top of the fifth. The fly ball plated Hertler, giving Davis his second RBI of the game and sixth of the series.

The Crushers would hold onto that 3-1 lead the rest of the way. Treece would only allow one more hit, before Jordan McCoy would close out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.

Treece (6-3) recorded the win with his efforts while Scott Vachon (2-2) took the loss. Vachon allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. Jorday McCoy registered his first save of the season with the scoreless ninth inning.

In a game where seven of nine Crushers hit safely, Joey Burney led the way with a 2-3 performance. That capped a strong series for Burney, who went 5-12 with four runs batted in. Andrew Davis had his third multi-RBI game of the series, and Vincent Mejia hit his third home run of the series in this one as well. With his single in the seventh inning, Craig Hertler extended his on-base streak to 30 games, which is tied for the longest streak in the Frontier League this season.

After a day off, the Crushers return home Tuesday for a three-game series with the Gateway Grizzlies. Lefty Connor Whalen (2-2, 3.73) will pitch game one for Lake Erie while the Grizzlies will counter with Daniel Cropper (6-7, 4.39) who was recently acquired from Windy City. 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 2014 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.

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