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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers Weekly Outlook (July 30-August 4)

July 29, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Avon, OH - For the first time in a long time, the Crushers had themselves a bit of a rough week. After winning the first game in Washington, Lake Erie dropped the next five contests, including a three game sweep at the hand of the Evansville Otters.

The current road trip is the longest of the season and will continue Tuesday against the Florence Y'alls. Before the All-Star break, the Crushers were playing just about .500 baseball on the road to contrast their excellent home record. Since the second half began, the Crushers are just 1-8 and down to third place in the Frontier League West Division.

The success for opposing teams has come in the form of situational hitting. For the Crushers, they're hitting just .220 with runners in scoring position since the road trip began. Sam Franco and Ronald Washington lead the team with four RBIs in that span, but Lake Erie only had six unique players record RBIs last week.

All season long the Crushers have won ballgames largely by way of depth production. One night it can be one player with the big swing, the next night a different player. Last week's 1-5 record is, perhaps, predictable when you consider the X-factor for the Crushers' success being absent.

The reality: that's the nature of baseball. Some weeks you have it and some weeks you don't. Lake Erie has found ways to win all season long. Grit comes in waves. The Crushers were riding a tsunami-sized wave of grit in the first half. With four off days coming out of the first half, it was to be expected that a young team like Lake Erie might struggle out the gate. The longest road trip of the season had the chance to aggrandize potential struggles, and it did.

The Crushers' lack of timely hits, however, is not indicative of the offense's lack of getting on base. In fact, the Crushers have been on the basepaths often recently. New acquisition Alberti Chavez is 9-for-20 (.450) to start his Lake Erie tenure. He has been on base often, which is an incredible addition to his plus defense.

The gameplan for Lake Erie coming into the week is cutting down on the strikeouts. Their K/BB ratio last week was 53/13. When it comes to situational hitting, one of the most elementary things you can do with runners on base is put the ball in play. The Crushers are second in the Frontier League in strikeouts, only above Windy City. Look for key contributors in the heart of the Lake Erie lineup to take an opposite field approach this coming week and get back to the scrappy offense they sported in the first half.

Also keep an eye on the 6th inning. In those fringe innings where starters are approaching the end of their outing (5th-7th), the Crushers were outscored 21-11. Most times this season, the Crushers starters completed an inning and handed a clean inning to a reliever. In three of six of last week's games, starters were removed in the middle of an inning.

With the off day on Monday, the Crushers get another opportunity to reset before taking on Florence for the final time this season in a three game series starting on Tuesday, July 30. Then, the Crushers return home on Friday, August 2 for a set against the Windy City Thunderbolts.

This week's home promotions:

Friday, August 2 @ 7:05pm - Noche Latina Night with a postgame fireworks fiesta! It's Latin Heritage Night presented by Modelo. Join us for singing, dancing, lots of great specialty foods, and much more!

Saturday, August 3 @ 7:05pm - Margaritaville Night presented by Carat Coin with postgame Jimmy Buffett fireworks! It's always five o'clock at Crushers Stadium, and Island Troy will be performing a Jimmy Buffett tribute to go along with a jersey auction!

Sunday, August 4 @ 2:05pm - Cartoon Day presented by Main Event! Join us as we dive into the multiverse of media with all your favorite cartoon characters! After the game kids can run the bases and get autographs from their favorite Crushers!

We're excited to be back at Crushers Stadium this weekend, and we hope to see you there as the home stretch of the season begins!

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Frontier League Stories from July 29, 2024


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