Sports stats



FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers drop Wednesday matinee to Slammers

May 20, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


JOLIET, Ill.-- The Lake Erie Crushers saw a 3-0 lead disappear on Wednesday afternoon, as the Joliet Slammers came from behind and used a three-run eighth inning to defeat the Crushers, 6-3.

The loss for the Crushers (2-3) snapped a brief, two-game winning streak, while the win for the Slammers (1-4) snapped a four-game losing streak to start the season.

For the second night in a row, the Crushers got out to an early lead, but Joliet continued to battle back, tying the game in the sixth inning, before scoring three times to win it in the eighth.

The Crushers scored all of their runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-0 lead, and all of the damage was done with two outs. Joey Burney belted a two-out single to right, which was followed by Jose Barraza's base hit to the left side of the infield. Ty Nelson was then walked to load the bases, and Nick Zaharion stroked a two-run single to left to give the Crushers a 2-0 advantage. Nelson scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to complete the three-run frame.

From that point forward, the Crusher offense was held in check, as they were limited to just three singles after their three-run fourth inning.

A bizarre play allowed the Slammers to score their first run in the bottom of the fourth. They had runners on first and second with one out, when Alfredo Rodriguez hit a ground ball to Anderson Hidalgo at third. Hidalgo attempted to tag out Chris Serritella between second and third before throwing to first base. Field umpire Byron Martin said Hidalgo missed the tag, and Burney's throw from first back to third base ended up in foul territory, which allowed Serritella to score. A wild pitch scored Moldenhauer later in the inning.

Joliet then tied the game on a clutch two-out hit from Phil Bates in the sixth. The Slammers had runners on first and second with two out, when Bates singled to left to score the game tying run.

Bates came up again in the eighth inning with the infield drawn in, runners on second and third and one out. Bates hit a groundball to Juan Sanchez at short, and Sanchez's throw to the plate was slightly offline and a tad late, allowing the run to score. Jack Cleary then stroked a RBI double down the line in left, and Max Casper dropped a sacrifice bunt down on a squeeze play to score the next run.

Jordan Guth (1-1) scored the victory for the Slammers, after allowing just the three runs on six hits while striking out eight in eight innings of work. Navery Moore (1) snagged the save, by tossing a scoreless ninth inning. Kyle McMillen (0-1) took the loss, after allowing three runs on a pair of hits in one inning of work.

Two Crushers hit safely multiple times on the day. Burney went 2-for-4 with a run, marking the third straight game that he's hit safely more than once, and Zaharion went 2-for-4 as well with a pair of singles.

The Crushers will finish their three-game series with the Joliet Slammers at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Ill., on Thursday night. Lefty Brad Zambron (0-1, 8.30) will throw for the Crushers and the Slammers will counter with right-hander Aaron Vaughn (0-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 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

• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...

Frontier League Stories from May 20, 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