FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers surrender five in the first in 10-2 loss to Miners

Published on September 2, 2014 under Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio -- The Lake Erie Crushers allowed five runs in the top of the first inning to the Southern Illinois Miners at All Pro Freight Stadium on Tuesday night, and could not recover, in a 10-2 loss.

The loss for the Crushers (52-41) was their sixth in their last seven games, while victory for the Miners (58-36) was their sixth in a row, and their fourth in six games against the Crushers.

Southern Illinois grabbed the lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back, scoring five times in the opening frame to set the tone. The rally started on a one-out double from Ryan Cavan. Niko Vazquez followed with a base hit, which was followed by Frank Martinez's run scoring single. Two batters later, Chris Burke walked with the bases loaded to plate Vazquez. Marquis Riley's sac fly RBI made it a 3-0 lead for the Miners before Steve Marino capped the big inning with a two-run double to left.

The Miners did not rest on that big lead, as they added three more in the third. The bottom of the order went to work again, as their 7-8-9 batters drove in half (5) of their 10 runs on the night. Marino belted a RBI double in the third, and Phil Butler followed with a two-run single.

They added two more runs, getting single runs in the sixth and eighth. Cavan belted a solo homer in the sixth inning, his fifth of the year, and Aaron Gates drove in their final run on a two-out double in the top of the eighth.

Lake Erie was only able to scratch a pair of runs across on the night on eight hits. Ryan Hutchison belted a one out single to center in the fourth inning and Joey Burney followed with a double. Adam Ford then drove Hutchison home on a groundout.

The Crushers got their final run in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a pair of Southern Illinois errors. Kevin Franchetti reached on Vazquez's error at second to start the inning, and came home later in the inning after a single and another error. Trevor Stevens stroked a two-out single to center, and the ball was mishandled by Tyler Booth, which allowed Franchetti to score.

Anthony Montefusco (2-0) scored the victory for the Miners after tossing seven strong innings. He allowed just a pair of runs on six hits and fanned three along the way. Zach Gordon (3-5) took the loss after surrendering eight runs on 10 hits over five innings of work.

Leading the way for the Crushers offensively were Burney and Hutchison, who both hit safely twice on the night. Hutchison went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles while Burney went 2-for-4 as well with a base hit and a double.

The Crushers will continue their series with the Southern Illinois Miners at All Pro Freight Stadium on Wednesday night. Lefty Andy Roberts (2-1, 4.91) will start for the Crushers, and the Miners will counter with left-hander Rick Teasley (10-5, 3.72. 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 2014 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 2, 2014


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