FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers complete comeback effort

Published on July 17, 2015 under Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie Crushers opened up the second half of the season with a come from behind, 5-2 victory over the Schaumburg Boomers on Friday evening at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The victory for the Crushers (20-29) was their third in four games against the Boomers (22-30) this season, while the loss for Schaumburg was their fourth in a row.

The Crusher bullpen didn't allow a single run, while Lake Erie rallied from a 2-0 deficit, and came from behind to give them three wins in their last four games at home.

After the two sides exchanged scoreless frames through the first four innings, the Boomers struck for a pair of runs on three hits in the top of the fifth. TJ Bennett started the inning with a double, and came home on a two-bagger from Kyle Ruchim, who later scored on a single from Mike Schulze.

Lake Erie was able to dig into the deficit with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Boo Vazquez reached on a fielder's choice, stole second base, and scored Lake Erie's first run, on a two-out RBI double from Austin Prott.

The middle of the Lake Erie batting order went to work to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Anderson Hidalgo walked, and made his way to third on a double from Juan Sanchez. Jose Barraza then drove in the game tying run on a groundout to score Hidalgo.

Lake Erie's middle men went to work again to plate a trio of runs in the bottom of the eighth. Hidalgo started the rally with a one out walk, and Sanchez followed with a single to right. Barraza struck again with a double down the right field line to score Hidalgo again, giving the Crushers the lead. Two batters later, Vazquez singled through the right side of the infield to plate the final two runs of the game.

Zach Morton started the game, and went 5.1 innings, allowing a pair of runs on seven hits, and induced a pair of inning ending double plays, but didn't not factor into the decision. The combination of Brad Duffy, Daniel DeSimone, Trevor Longfellow (4-2) and Mike Devine (3) combined to toss 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Longfellow got the win, going 1.2 innings, while Devine tossed a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

Hidalgo, Sanchez and Vazquez led the way for the Crushers on a night where six Crushers hit safely at least once. The aforementioned trio turned in two hits each. Hidalgo went 2-for-2, and reached all four times up. Prott's RBI double in the fifth extended his on base streak to 17 games.

The Crushers will continue their three game series with the Schaumburg Boomers at All Pro Freight Stadium on Saturday night. Left-hander Brad Zambron (1-3, 3.94) will start for the Crushers and the Boomers will counter with right-hander Edwin Carl (1-4, 4.22). 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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Frontier League Stories from July 17, 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.

OurSports Central