FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers fall to Rascals in 11

Published on June 3, 2015 under Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie Crushers suffered their first extra-inning loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling to the River City Rascals, 4-3, in 11 innings at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The loss for the Crushers (5-10) was their fourth in a row, and their seventh in nine games at home, while the win for the Rascals (10-7) was their fifth in a row on their current road trip.

Opportunities were squandered on both sides, as the two teams combined to leave 20 men on base, in a game where there were three homers, but all three were of the solo variety.

The Crushers fired the first shot, in the home half of the second inning. Ty Nelson began the inning with a solo homer to right, which was his fourth of the season.

River City came back and took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, which began with back-to-back doubles from Hector Crespo and Danny Canela. Canela's two-bagger to center scored Crespo and Canela scored the go-ahead run on Josh Silver's single down the line in left.

Lake Erie used a two-out rally to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Cody Stevens, who made his pro debut on Wednesday night, kept the inning alive on a single back up the middle, and scored the game tying run on Jose Barraza's pinch hit double down the line in left.

River City came back to take the lead in the top of the ninth, as Taylor Ard hit his second homer of the series to give the Rascals a 3-2 lead.

It didn't take the Crushers long to respond, as Joey Burney started the bottom of the ninth inning with a towering solo shot that hit off the scoreboard beyond the wall in right center field. Lake Erie had runners on first and second with one out, but couldn't find a way to push the winning run across.

The newly installed pace of play rules include the International tiebreaker rule, which puts a runner on second base to start the inning, from the 11th inning on. Jackson Slaid started the top of the 11th inning on second base, and advanced to third on a one-out flyout to deep right from Hector Crespo. With two outs in the inning, Slaid scored the eventual game winning run on a wild pitch.

Heith Hatfield (2-0) scored the victory for the Rascals, tossing two scoreless innings in relief and fanned four batters along the way, while Mike Devine (1-2) took the loss, after allowing an unearned run on no hits over an inning of relief.

The Crushers left 12 men on base on the night, and have stranded 22 over the first two games of the series. Three Crushers hit safely multiple times, as Nelson, Cody Stevens and Anderson Hidalgo all hit safely twice.

The Crushers will finish their three-game series with the River City Rascals at All Pro Freight Stadium on Thursday night. Left-hander Brad Zambron (0-1, 7.61) will start for the Crushers, while the Rascals will throw right-hander Tim Koons (1-0, 6.58). 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.

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Frontier League Stories from June 3, 2015


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