FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers Drop Series Opener To Schaumburg

Published on July 16, 2012 under Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - The Lake Erie Crushers were down 7-0 to the Schaumburg Boomers after three innings of Monday evening's contest, and while they rallied for five in the sixth inning, they fell two runs short in a 7-5 loss.

The loss for the Crushers (27-25) marks the first time they've dropped a series opener since June 23 against Washington, while the win for the Boomers (33-19) was their fourth in a row, and fourth against the Crushers this season.

For the second game in a row, the Crushers were buried by a pair of big innings. The Boomers scored twice to snap a scoreless tie in the second, and then plated five runs in the third.

Chad Mozingo started the second inning with a single and moved to second on Drew Heithoff's sacrifice bunt. Nick Kuroczko reached on J.C. Figueroa's fielding error at second, putting runners at the corners with one out. Mike Valadez then brought in Mozingo with an RBI groundout, and former Crusher, Jereme Milons doubled Kuroczko home give the Boomers a 2-0 lead.

Schaumburg then sent 10 batters to the plate in the third inning, and scored five runs on six hits to pull away. Five out of the six hits went for extra bases. Frank Pfister and Steve McQuail belted back-to-back solo homeruns, before Kuroczko smacked a two run double, and scored the final run of the inning on Valadez's base hit.

While the Boomers scored seven runs on nine hits through three innings, the bullpen combination of Randy Sturgill and Travis Risser held them without a hit through the final 4.2 innings of the contest.

The Crushers did all of their damage with two outs in the top of the sixth. Figueroa began a string of five straight hits with two outs, on an RBI single to score Wally Correa. Kyle Weldon followed with a base hit, and Russ Moldenhauer smashed a single to center, scoring Figueroa in the process. Andrew Davis belted an RBI double, before Daniel Bowman singled in the next two runs to cap the big inning.

Lake Erie appeared to be in business in the top of the seventh. Rich Witten began the inning with a single, and moved to second when Correa was hit by a pitch. Adrian Ortiz dropped a bunt down on the left side of the infield in an attempt to push both runners into scoring position, but Witten was thrown out at third on the play, and Figueroa followed by bouncing into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

Alex Rivers (1-1) had allowed just one hit through five innings, but hit a wall in the sixth. He still hung on for the victory, allowing four runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work. Alex Loftin (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season, surrendering seven runs, five earned on eight hits over 2.1 innings of action.

Seven Crushers hit safely in the contest, but nobody hit safely multiple times. Jason Taylor went 0-for-2, and was pinch hit for by Weldon in the sixth inning, bringing his on base streak to an end at 35 games.

The Crushers will continue their three game series with the Schaumburg Boomers in Schaumburg, Ill., on Tuesday night. Right hander Pat Arnold (0-0, 0.00) will start for the Crushers, and the Boomers will counter with right hander Shane Prance (1-0, 4.57). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 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 2012 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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Frontier League Stories from July 16, 2012


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