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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Rascals Complete Sweep of Crushers

July 12, 2009 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Avon, OH - Losing four straight and being swept by the River City Rascals was not nearly the way the Crushers wanted to finish off the first half of the season. But on Sunday, the Rascals grabbed the lead early and held off another late Lake Erie charge to beat the Crushers 3-1.

The game was highlighted by a volatile fifth inning that saw Lake Erie manager John Massarelli ejected for the first time this season. Tempers continued to flare as River City's Jojo Batten took exception to getting hit by a Jorge Charry pitch and both dugouts emptied but order was quickly restored before anything escalated.

River City took the lead in the third inning on an RBI single by Batten. The Rascals would add to the lead in the fifth when Joe Chavarria scored on a wild pitch by Charry, followed by a Scott Robinson RBI single. Charry took the loss after allowing all three runs on six hits in five and a third innings pitched. Starter Paul Fagan made a rare appearance out of the bullpen and combined with Jacinto Gonell to throw 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. "I was really happy with the way our pitchers all threw today," said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. "But the bottom line is that they outplayed us."

The Crushers offense was quiet for most of the game against River City starter Jake Laber. They would load the bases with no one out in the fourth inning, but Laber was able to work out of the jam. Lake Erie got to Laber with two outs in the seventh inning as Tim Binkoski delivered an RBI single to score Arden McWilliams. The Crushers would put the tying run at the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Rascal reliever Jake Edwards closed it out for his first save of the season.

Lake Erie heads to the All-Star break at 25-22. Andrew Davis, Luke Hetherington, Gordon Gronkowski, Tim Binkoski, and Paul Fagan will all participate in Wednesday night's Frontier League All Star Game in Loves Park, Ill. The season resumes on Friday night when the Crushers travel to Gateway to take on the Grizzlies.

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