Normal CornBelters (45-43) at Lake Erie (37-41)
Brett Lester (6-7, 5.52) vs Josh Roberts (7-4, 2.96)

Normal
Jeff Cowan SS
Ben Petralli C
Daniel Cox 3b
Ross McCoy CF
Jonathan Ross LF
Asif Shah RF
Steve Alexander 1b
Mike Dufek DH
Brad Augustin 2b

Lake Erie
Raphael Turner LF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Matt Sutton DH
Lee Huggins 1b
Joel Collins C
Arden McWilliams RF
Jake Krause 2b
Dom Duggan CF

Pregame Notes:
Lake Erie began its second to last home stand of the season tonight against the Normal CornBelters. The Crushers (37-41) entered the game nine games behind first place Windy City ThunderBolts. Windy City (45-31) has won seven of their last 10 to take first place from Oakland County (45-33), who has lost eight of 10. The Cruisers are holding onto the second to last Eastern Division playoff spot. The Crushers are eight games back of Oakland County with 18 to play. Traverse City is in third place four games ahead of Lake Erie and four back of Oakland County. The Crushers play six at home go on the road for six then finish the season with six more at All Pro Freight Stadium. Manager John Massarelli was blunt in his approach to these last 18 games.
“We are going to try to win,” he said. “The goal is to win tonight. They know what we have to do which is put together a big streak.”

New face
The Frontier League roster deadline has passed. So the current roster will have to do for the rest of the season. The Crushers made one last move adding Jake Krause, who started at second base last night. Krause played for Fargo-Moorhead in the Northern League. He hit .290 in 93 at bats. Krause played collegiately at Concordia -Moorhead, he led the team in hits (51), runs (38), home runs (6), total bases (80), slugging percentage (.625) and stolen bases (24). Krause also tied for the team lead in RBI (30) and finished second in batting average (.398).

Criss remembered
Before the first pitch of tonight’s game there will be a moment of silence for Avon firefighter Kevin Criss, who passed away late Monday night after a motorcycle accident. On Saturday, Criss played at All Pro Freight when the Avon firefighters and police played softball to raise money for Breast cancer research.

Guest voice
Jack Desmond, a 20-year old from Shaker Heights, is the guest announcer tonight. Desmond, who has been blind since birth, was also a guest announcer last season. Tomorrow he is scheduled to accept the Raymond A. Horn Award for outstanding achievement by the Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities in Columbus. Desmond has been the voice of the Shaker Heights Raiders for the last three seasons. Crusher outfielder Arden McWilliams is a former Raider and helped arrange for Jack’s return this summer.

Promotions
As always the Crushers have a plethora of promotions on the home stand. Tomorrow Lorain boxer Wilkins Santiago will throw out the first pitch before the game. It is also Fitness Night as Coleen Skebeck of NBC’s Biggest Loser 6 will be on hand. Thursday is Thirsty Thursday with dollar drafts. Friday has fireworks and is 80s night. Saturday is Back to School Night. There is a jersey bag giveaway and youth group Olympics. Sunday features a Baseball 101 Clinic for women over 21 at 2:30 p.m. Registration is $35 and includes a pre-game picnic and one home box ticket for Sunday’s game against the Southern Illinois Miners at 5:05pm. Proceeds from the clinic will be donated to the Fight against Breast Cancer. The clinic will focus on teaching the participants the fundamentals of baseball and provide a chance to meet some of the Crushers players and coaches. Clinic participants should bring a baseball glove and dress in sports attire such as shorts and a t-shirt and tennis shoes are recommended (metal cleats are prohibited). Call 440-934-3636 for more information.