Delayed Opening Day Finally Comes Around as Crushers Sweep Boulders in Doubleheader

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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Delayed Opening Day Finally Comes Around as Crushers Sweep Boulders in Doubleheader

May 10, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Pomona, NY - It took a few days to happen, but Opening Day finally arrived for the Lake Erie Crushers (2-0). They took advantage of the sunshine in Pomona on Saturday, sweeping the New York Boulders (0-2) in an Opening Day doubleheader.

Game one got out to a promising start for Lake Erie, but men stranded in the first two innings and the Boulders running wild on the base paths led to an early 2-0 New York lead. RF Scout Knotts cut the lead in half with a two-out, RBI double in the 3rd to start the scoring in 2025.

Then, LF Burle Dixon led off the 4th with a mammoth solo blast to tie the game at two and log the first Crushers home run of the season.

Things stayed put from there as both bullpens duked it out until extra innings - which began in the 8th inning due to the shortened seven inning games of a doubleheader.

With a man at third, pinch hitter Derek Vegas drove in the go-ahead run to give the Crushers their first lead of the game. From there the floodgates opened. Burle Dixon unloaded in a bid for his second homer of the game, sending a shot off the wall to score another run. Then 2B Zach Campbell added on with a 2 RBI knock of his own in his Crushers debut to give Lake Erie a 7-2 lead in extras.

The Boulders would push across their automatic extra innings runner, but RHP Leonardo Rodriguez (1-0) finished off the effort with two innings of work to put a cap on the 7-3 Opening Day, extra inning victory.

Game two went by like a blur. An east coast game that started at 9:45pm local time, both starting pitchers collectively decided that everyone would get to their standardized midnight bedtime.

Lake Erie's RHP Brandyn Sittinger, the local ex-big leaguer from Elyria, diced up Boulders hitters with regularity, pumping mid-90's fastballs to the tune of seven strikeouts in his outing. He dueled with former Crusher LHP Garrett Coe, who matched Sittinger's effort in efficiency, but not perfection.

In the top of the 4rd, SS Jarrod Watkins clanged a ball off the wall and circled the wagon for a one-out triple. He'd score on a 1B Alfredo Gonzalez grounded moments later to break the ice, making it 1-0 Lake Erie.

2B Davie Morgan, making his first Crushers start, added to the total with a solo home run deep into the left field bleachers at Clover Stadium to add to the lead, now 2-0.

Meanwhile, Sittinger kept dealing, making it through six scoreless innings without surrendering a hit to the Boulders lineup. Only two hit batters and a walk were to show for against him. In the top of the 7th, the Crushers got more insurance, this time from a C Derek Vegas dump-in single down the right field line to score a pair and make the score 4-0.

Sittinger emerged from the dugout for the 7th, the final inning of the shortened doubleheader. After he got the first out of the inning, Boulders LF Zane Zurbrugg made the first solid contact off the veteran righty all night, singling up the middle to break up the no-hit bid. Sittinger was removed after his incredible 6 1/3 innings of one-hit baseball.

LHP Kenny Pierson came in to clean up the final two outs, and Lake Erie finished off the doubleheader sweep. Sittinger improves to 1-0 in his Lake Erie tenure, and former Crusher Garrett Coe, despite his solid outing, begins the season 0-1.

"Better late than never," they always say. It took two extra days, but two wins to start 2025 feel nice and sweet for the Crushers as they return home for the Home Opener on Tuesday.

The Crushers return to Crushers Stadium for the home opener on Tuesday, May 13, against the Florence Y'alls.

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Frontier League Stories from May 10, 2025


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