Sports stats



FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers Sweep RiverHawks

July 20, 2011 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


AVON, Ohio - Five players were ejected after a third inning brawl at All Pro Freight Stadium on Wednesday morning, as the Crushers used a five run third inning to take the final game of the series, 10-3, completing a three game sweep of the Rockford Riverhawks.

For the Crushers, (25-28) the victory gives them seven in nine games against the Riverhawks, and the loss for Rockford (23-31) was their fourth in a row.

The Crushers scored single runs in the first and the second before pulling away with five in the third. Patrick Norris started the first inning with a free pass and scored later in the inning when Andrew Davis bounced into a 5-4-3 double play. Jason Taylor began the second inning with a walk, and scored on Jodam Rivera's sacrifice fly.

The fireworks began in the bottom of the third. Taylor singled in the first run of the inning, bringing Evan Sharpley to the plate. Earlier in the contest, Sharpley and Rockford catcher Carlos Dominguez collided at home plate. Sharpley walked on four pitches, and on the final pitch, he and Dominguez began barking at each other.

Shortly thereafter, the two began fighting, and the benches cleared. Five players were ejected. Sharpley and Rueben Flores were ejected for the Crushers, while Dominguez, starting pitcher Joe Schumaci and relief pitcher Joey Gradney were ejected for Rockford.

Lake Erie's offense responded by plating four more runs. Rivera delivered his second sacrifice fly to score Kellen Kulbacki, before Robby Kuzdale belted an RBI single to score Taylor, and Brian Erie doubled in the final two runs of the inning.

Rivera drove in his third run of the game in the bottom of the fifth with a double that scored T.J. Baumet, and Rivera scored later in the inning on Erie's second double of the contest to put the Crushers ahead, 9-0.

Rockford scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning. Matt Greener belted a two-run double to score Freddy Parejo and David Cooper. Greener came home moments later on a two-out single from Luis Parache.

The Crushers plated their final run of the game on Kellen Kulbacki's two out double in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Paul Fagan (4-7) allowed just three runs on four hits over six innings and fanned five batters in a winning effort. Chris Allen (3) tossed three scoreless innings of relief to score the save, while Scumaci (3-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits over two and a third.

The bottom of Lake Erie's batting order drove in seven of Lake Erie's 10 runs. Rivera went 1-for-1 with a run and three RBIs, while Kuzdale went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, and Erie went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his Crushers debut. Kulbacki also hit safely twice for the Crushers, going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

The Crushers will begin a three game series against the Joliet Slammers at Silver Cross Field on Thursday night. Right hander Thomas Campbell (0-0, 6.75) will start for the Crushers and the Slammers will counter with right hander Ryne Miller (0-3, 4.04). The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM.

The Lake Erie Crushers, the 2009 Frontier League Champions, play ball at All Pro Freight Stadium, a 5,000 capacity stadium located in Avon, OH. The Frontier League is an independent baseball league with 12 teams operating throughout the Midwest. Season tickets for the 2011 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 July 20, 2011


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