FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers rally to win in extras

Published on September 3, 2013 under Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio. -- The Lake Erie Crushers came from behind on Tuesday night to win the opening game in the final series of the regular season, as they defeated the Traverse City Beach Bums, 3-2, in 12 innings at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The victory for the Crushers (55-39) was their fourth in a row, and they are once again all alone in first place in the Frontier League's Eastern Division. Their win, combined with Florence, River City and Gateway losses clinched Lake Erie's third playoff appearance in five years. The loss for the Beach Bums (54-40) was their tenth in a row on the road.

Hits were tough to come by on both sides all night long. The Crushers and Beach Bums were scoreless through the first four innings of the contest, until Traverse City went to work in the top of the fifth.

The bottom of the Beach Bums' batting order did most of the damage. Marcus Nidiffer started the inning with a triple to the gap in right-center. The next batter, Matt Howard hit a ground ball on the left side of the infield. Juan Sanchez fielded it at short, but his throw to first ended up in the seats, putting Howard at second, and allowed Nidiffer to score. Scott Woodward followed with a run scoring double.

Lake Erie cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth. A one out walk was issued to Andrew Davis, and Sanchez followed with a base hit. Kevin Berard reached on shortstop Sean Gusrang's fielding error to load the bases. Craig Hertler walked with the bases full to score Davis.

The Crushers plated another run in the eighth inning to tie the contest, but had a chance to do much more. Daniel Bowman and Russ Moldenhauer were both hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Anderson Hidalgo loaded the bases with his third of four hits on the night. Davis then bounced into a 6-4-3 double play which scored Bowman to tie the game.

The two teams traded three scoreless frames, until Lake Erie ended it in the 12th inning. Hertler started the inning with a base hit, and Seth Granger's sacrifice bunt moved him to second. Bowman then hit a pop up on the right side of the infield which was dropped by second baseman Ryan Still. Moldenhauer was then walked to load the bases, and Hidalgo came through with the game winning RBI single to left-center.

Jordan Wellander (4-2) tossed two perfect innings of relief and struck out two to score the victory, while Burny Mitchem (0-4) took the loss, after allowing a run on a hit with three strikeouts over 2.1 innings of work. Alex Kaminsky started the game, and allowed a pair of runs, one earned, on four hits over seven innings. Wellander, Connor Whalen, Brad Duffy and Dale Dickerson combined to toss five innings of scoreless, two-hit relief.

Hidalgo paced the Crushers offensively, going 4-for-6 on the night. Hertler reached four times as well, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and two walks. Sanchez reached three ties with two base hits and was hit by a pitch.

The Crushers will continue their three-game series against the Traverse City Beach Bums at All Pro Freight Stadium on Wednesday night. Left-hander Matt Rein (8-6, 2.39) will start for the Crushers and the Beach Bums will counter with right-hander Jake Sabol (10-5, 2.95). 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 2013 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 September 3, 2013


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