Lake Erie Winning Streak Snapped in 8-3 Loss to Washington
August 1, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release
Washington, PA - The Lake Erie Crushers saw a 3-1 lead disappear late on Friday night, as they fell in their series opener to the Washington Wild Things, 8-3.
The loss for the Crushers (40-28) snapped a seven game winning streak, while the win for Washington (39-31) pulled them within two games of the Crushers for the top spot in the Central Division.
Both starting pitchers dazzled early on. Dylan Spain (6-3) allowed just a run on three hits through his first five innings, while Washington's Jordan DiValerio took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Washington fired the first shot, as Cole Fowler blasted a solo homer to left in the bottom of the third to give the Wild Things a 1-0 lead.
Lake Erie had just one base runner though the first five innings before they hit their stride in the sixth. Sam Franco reached on a one out double, which started a string of four straight hits. Kenen Irizarry brought Franco home on a RBI single to center and he advanced to second on an error. Irizarry scored the go ahead run moments later on Dario Gomez's RBI base it to center.
The Crushers tacked on another run in the seventh. Derek Vegas extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a one out base hit. He came around to score later in the frame on Irizarry's two out RBI base hit to left. However, that was Lake Erie's final hit of the night.
In the meantime, Washington's offense was just getting started. They sent seven batters to the plate in the seventh and scored three times on three hits to regain the lead. Tommy Caufield highlighted the inning with a two out, two run double to right.
The Wild Things then sent all nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring four times on four hits to put the game away.
Spain took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits while fanning three batters over 6.2 innings of work.
The series will continue on Saturday night, but it will shift to Lake Erie Crushers Stadium in Avon. Lefty Darien Ragins (5-3, 2.52) will get the start for the Crushers and the first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. It's Cleveland vs Pittsburgh day at the ballpark featuring special on-field jerseys. Tickets online at lakeeriecrushers.com/tickets.
Can't join us at the ballpark? You can stream Crushers games home and away in 2025 on the brand new Frontier League streaming partner, HomeTeam Network or watch live on local television on Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN) in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati markets!
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