Crushers Games to be Aired Live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network with New Look Broadcast Crew

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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers Games to be Aired Live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network with New Look Broadcast Crew

May 9, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Avon, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers are thrilled to announce the new broadcast schedule and broadcast team for the 2025 season. Airing live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network, the Crushers are welcoming Andy "Bull" Barch back to the broadcast booth as well as the addition of Cleveland broadcasting legend, Mark "Munch" Bishop.

Beginning this Tuesday, May 13th, all Crushers games home and away will be aired live statewide on Rock Entertainment Sports Network. The network is available over the air in Cleveland on channel 22.1, in Columbus on channel 17.1 and in Cincinnati on channel 19.3. It is also carried on Spectrum cable across Ohio - Cleveland (Channel 979), Columbus (Channel 985) and Cincinnati (Channel 999).The Crushers will be one of the only minor league baseball teams that will have live broadcasts on local television.

"We're excited to welcome the Lake Erie Crushers to Rock Entertainment Sports Network this season," said Mike Conley, Cleveland Cavaliers and Rock Entertainment Group, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. "Our partnership with the Crushers provides us the opportunity to tell their story in a more accessible way to the local Lorain County community, as well as the entire state of Ohio."

"Rock Entertainment Sports Network marks the start of a new era for Crushers broadcasts," said Crushers President Vic Gregovits. "Thanks to our incredible partnership with Rock Entertainment Group and Gray Media, our potential audience has grown to the extent that baseball fans across Ohio will have every opportunity to follow the team this year."

Andy "Bull" Barch has been a play-by-play announcer, media professional, and radio personality for the last 25 years and has been covering Lorain County High School sports since 2017. He was the voice of the Lake Erie Crushers for 12 seasons (2011-2023) and is returning to the mic this season.

Bull made his debut in professional baseball in the Summer of 2003 with the Jamestown Jammers, a New York-Penn League (Short Season) affiliate of the Florida Marlins. He spent the following six seasons (2004-2009) with the West Virginia Power, a Class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates ('09), Milwaukee Brewers, ('05-08) and Toronto BlueJays ('04) in the South Atlantic League. During his tenure as the "Voice of the Power", Andy called over 800 baseball games, including the 2009 South Atlantic League All-Star Game. He called two South Atlantic League Championship Series in 2007 and 2008. Barch also hosted a daily talk show titled "Bull on Baseball". In 2009, Ballpark Digest named him the runner up for their Broadcaster of the Year Award.

In the sports world there's a long lasting truism: broadcasters always refer to the home team as the "good guys." With Mark "Munch" Bishop, that analogy goes far beyond him simply being a 45+ year on-air ironman, home-team journeyman, and favorite of the sports-fan Everyman.

Born and raised in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood, Bishop and his family moved to Solon where he graduated from Solon High School in 1970. He "started doing sports on the regular" at WLVQ (Q-FM-96) in Columbus, circa 1979. His first program director there told Bishop that he needed a catchy handle or moniker "because Mark Bishop just ain't gonna cut it." Tapping into the story of his basketball days, "Munch the Morning Madman" was born.

To hear Bishop tell it, he has "never worked a day in his life" in radio, television and other broadcast avenues. His resume clearly says otherwise. Among his many highlight reels, Bishop has served as a host, announcer on ESPN, ABC and NBC affiliates, FOX Sports Radio and TV, SportsChannel, iHeartRadio and Good Karma Brands.

An honored professional, Bishop has received the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters' Lifetime for Excellence Award, the Marino Award from the Friend of the Homeless in Columbus, the Honored Friend award from the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society and was bestowed The Chuck Heaton Award from the Press Club of Cleveland.

And just so you know, when you get Bishop laughing, he won't stop any time soon (hint: it does not take much to get that beaming smile going).

Coming back for his second season with the Crushers, Zane Bloom will be the voice for when the team goes on the road, making it the first time the Crushers will have a road announcer since 2019.

Zane is a second-year professional broadcaster whose love of baseball is approaching two decades of tenure. A high-school baseball standout, NCCSA baseball state champion, and honored Coastal Preps Athlete from Wilmington, North Carolina, his playing career led right into his broadcasting career, which started in 2021 with the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League.

While generally soft-spoken off the mic, all it takes is a baseball game to get Zane talking up a storm. He is a perpetual student of the game that has been often noted to see and say things before they happen. This season Zane will serve as an all-purpose announcer doing road play-by-play, home fill-in color commentary, and live in-game reporting.

The Crushers will kick off the 2025 season tonight, May 9 against the New York Boulders before returning to Crushers Stadium for the home opener on Tuesday, May 13, against the Florence Y'alls. The full 2025 broadcast schedule is denoted below.

*All broadcasted games and times are subject to change.*

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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.

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