Crushers rally to score four in 8th but lose in 9th

May 29, 2011

Joliet at Lake Erie
SP Andrew Moss (0-1) vs SP Josh Roberts (1-1)

Starting Lineups:

Joliet Slammers 4-4
LF Bobby Leeper
2b Hector Pellot
RF Josh Flores
1B Erik Lis
CF Devin Shepherd
DH Kris Kasarjian
3B Kyle Maunus
SS Ben Farrell
C Ben Hewett

Lake Erie Crushers (4-4)
CF Patrick Norris
1b Nick Mahin
SS Andrew Davis
RF Kellen Kulbacki
3B Jason Taylor
C Joel Colllins
LF Chris Luick
DH Kyle Shaffer
2b Kyle Boe

Crushers get first home win of the season

Game story of Crushers home opener

The Crushers finished their opening season roadtrip 3-3 thanks to a 4-2 win over Rockford on Thursday night.

Starting pitcher Andrew Weeks improved to 2-0 allowing just one run on six hits in six innings. He struck out five.

The Riverhawks scored their first run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning on Jeremy Hamilton's two out RBI single. Lake Erie responded quickly by plating a pair of runs in the top of the second. Patrick Norris's first of three hits on the night was a run scoring single to tie the game in the second, and the Crushers took advantage of the game's only error moments later to take the lead.

The bases were loaded with two outs, when Rockford catcher Carlos Dominguez attempted to pick off Zac Messer at second base. Dominguez's throw hit Messer's leg, and was re-directed to the left side of the infield, which allowed Kyle Boe to score.

Lake Erie plated two more runs in the top of the third to take a 4-1 advantage. Kellen Kulbacki reached on a one out walk and moved to second base on Nick Mahin's single. Joel Collins followed with a double down the left field line to score Kulbacki, and Chris Luick's sacrifice fly brought in Mahin moments later.

The Lake Erie pitching staff held the Riverhawks to just one hit, from the fourth through the eighth inning, until Rockford scored its final run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bud Long began the inning with a walk, and Ruben Flores (2) struck out the next two batters he faced. Caleb Curry followed with a base hit, and David Cooper belted a single to center field which scored Long from second base. Rockford then executed a double steal, putting the tying runs in scoring position. Flores then walked Jake Eigsti to load the bases, before Flores struck out Hamilton to seal the deal.

Norris led the Crushers offensively with three hits on the night, going 3-for-5, finishing off a strong series, in which he hit .431 (6-for-13). Kulbacki and Collins both hit safely twice, and reached three times in five plate appearances, and Mahin belted two base hits, giving him nine hits on the trip.

Last season the Crushers were built on great pitching and solid defense.

On Wednesday, they didn't get much of either in a 13-7 loss to Rockford to fall to 2-3.

One of last year's most consistent starters, Travis Risser was roughed up for the second time this season. Risser fell to 0-2 allowing six runs on five hits in just two innings. The defense, which set a record for fielding percentage, committed four errors.

Trailing 8-2 in the fifth, the Crushers scored five times in the sixth to close within one run.

Andrew Davis's second double of the game knocked in the first two runs of the big inning, and Kellen Kulbacki followed Davis's two-bagger with an RBI single. Collins delivered the fourth hit of the inning with a run scoring double down the right field line, and Chris Luick drove in the final run of the inning on a groundout.

The Crushers were held to just one hit the rest of the way, while the Riverhawks scored twice in the seventh inning, and plated a trio of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.

Rockford, Ill. -- The Lake Erie Crushers won their second game in a row on Tuesday night in a rain shortened contest, defeating the Rockford RiverHawks, 4-2 in six innings.

Lake Erie (2-2) snapped a 2-2 tie by scoring twice in the top of the sixth inning, while Rockford (2-2) went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, before the game was originally delayed because of lightning. The rain came shortly thereafter, with two outs in the top of the seventh inning and never stopped, giving the Crushers a 4-2 victory.

The Crushers wasted no time getting started, scoring twice in the first inning, as they did in their last victory on Saturday night. The bases were loaded for Lake Erie with one down, when Nick Mahin hit a ground ball to Rockford shortstop Jake Eigsti, which Eigisti booted, allowing Chase Fontaine to score. The next batter, Joel Collins reached on a fielder's choice which brought Andrew Davis home.

Josh Roberts (1-1) fanned the first two batters he faced and worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning, before allowing a pair of runs in the second. Jeremy Hamilton began the frame with a double, and scored on Cameron Satterwhite's base hit. Carlos Dominguez brought in the game tying run two batters later on a groundout. After allowing that run to score, Roberts went on to retire 13 of the final 14 batters he faced.

AVON - The Frontier League's Most Valuable Pitcher from 2009 Paul Fagan will be returning to the mound for the Crushers at All Pro Freight Stadium for Opening Day on Friday.

Fagan was traded back to the Crushers from the Windy City Thunderbolts for a player to be named.

Fagan led the Frontier League in 2009 with 16 wins and was a member of both the 2009 All Star Team and was named to the post-season All Star team. He helped the Crushers win the Frontier League Championship with a 2-1 record in the playoffs. He completed the Crushers inaugural season with a 2.70 ERA in 140 innings.

After the 2009 season, Baseball American honored Fagan by placing him on the Second Team All Independent League Team. Fagan was then traded from the Crushers to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. He made his way back into the Frontier League this offseason when he was signed by the Windy City Thunderbolts.

“I am very excited to get Paul back," said Crushers manager John Masserelli in a press release from the team. "We are hoping that he can regain the dominance he had during the 2009 championship season."

“Bringing back the Frontier League’s best pitcher from our inaugural season was important to ownership and the team. Paul Fagan will be a leader in the clubhouse and give Mazz a true talent on the mound. He was worth a five hour negotiation and is looking for another ring, which is a good thing for the future of the Crushers this season,” said team owner Steven Edelson.

The Lake Erie Crushers will make history this week by being the first team in the Frontier League to launch an App compatible with the iPhone and Android operating systems.

The free App, titled Lake Erie Crushers, will launch through Android on Thursday, May 26^th and the iPhone App shortly after. An announcement will be made for the iPhone App launch date as soon as it becomes available.

The Lake Erie Crushers official team App will allow fans to get Crushers updates and information at their fingertips at all times. Fans will be able to receive updates on the score, purchase tickets and merchandise from the Fan-Attic and receive up to date news on the team.

“We are excited to be the first team in the Frontier League to take the next big step in social media,” said Brittany Kachingwe, Account Executive. “The app will allow fans to have constant access to the Crushers schedule, scores, tickets and much more right at their fingertips. The app is another aspect of social media that we hope will allow fans to stay more connected with the team.”

The Lake Erie Crushers scored early and often against the Windy City Thunderbolts on Saturday evening, plating five of their six runs in the first three innings as they avoided a three game sweep with a 6-4 victory at Standard Bank Stadium.

Lake Erie (1-2) never trailed in the contest, and turned in their finest offensive performance of the season, scoring six runs on 11 hits, while Windy City (2-1) was held to just four runs, after scoring 22 runs in their first two games combined.

Patrick Norris began the game with a base hit, and scored on Chase Fontaine's double down the left field line to plate the game's first run. Fontaine would come home later in the first, on Nick Mahin's sacrifice fly to give the Crushers a 2-0 edge. Windy City cut into that lead in the bottom of the first on Chase Porch's two-out RBI single.

An inning later, the Thunderbolts tied the game at 2-2 when Mike Torres scored on J.J. Sferra's groundout. The Crushers responded quickly by scoring a trio of runs on four big hits in the top of the third. Norris and Fontaine started the inning with back-to-back singles, and Norris scored on Andrew Davis's sacrifice fly. Mahin came through again for the Crushers two batters later by smashing a two-run double.

Windy City inched closer in the third inning, getting another big two-out hit on Chase Porch's RBI double, and they scored their final run in the seventh inning on Zack Aakhus's base hit to bring them within a run.

The Crushers were able to score a big insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. Mahin started the inning with a base hit, and moved to second base on a throwing error by Windy City's left fielder, Josh Womack. Joel Collins bunted Mahin over to third, and he scored on Scott Houin's base hit.

The Thunderbolts never threatened to score after Aakhus's single in the seventh, as Ruben Flores (1) retired all four batters he faced, and struck out the side in the ninth inning to score his first save of the season.

Andrew Weeks (1-0) was strong through five innings of work for the Crushers, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking two and fanning two. He finished on a strong note, by sitting down the final six batters he faced. Over the game's final four innings, Greg Hendrix, Kelyn Schellenberg, Jeff Cinadr, and Flores combined to allow just a run on five hits while striking out six in relief.

Matt Costello (0-1) of Windy City suffered the loss. He surrendered five runs on five hits and made it through three innings before being pulled.

Mahin, Houin and Fontaine each hit safely twice for the Crushers. Mahin drove in three runs and scored twice, while Norris and Fontaine at the top of the order combined to go 3-for-9 with four runs and an RBI, and eight out of the starting nine hit safely.

Great pitching and solid defense were what kept the Lake Erie Crushers in contention for much of last season. There hasn’t been much of that after two games this season. The Crushers committed seven errors and gave up 20 hits in a 13-5 loss to Windy City on Friday night.

The Crushers top two starters Josh Roberts and Travis Risser took the two losses to start the season.

The Thunderbolts scored first in the bottom of the first inning on a double from Ryan Basham, and then scored four runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead through two innings of action. The Crushers scored their first run of the game in the top of the third inning, as Kellen Kulbacki grounded out with the bases loaded to score Chase Fontaine.

Down 7-1 in the top of the seventh, the Crushers scored three times to get back within striking distance. Kulbacki and Andrew Davis stroked back-to-back run scoring singles, and Joel Collins ripped a two-out double to left center field to bring in the final run of the inning.

As they had all series long, the Thunderbolts responded quickly, by sending 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, and scored six runs on seven hits. The first four batters of the inning recorded base hits, and all seven knocks were singles.

The Crushers scored their final run of the contest in the top of the ninth inning. Nick Mahin began the inning with a double, and scored moments later on Davis’s two-bagger.

Windy City right hander Dustin Williams (1-0) was solid through six innings in a winning effort, allowing just a run on four hits with five strikeouts. The Crushers did most of their damage against the Windy City bullpen, which surrendered four runs on five hits over the game’s final three innings.

Travis Risser (0-1) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs on 10 hits over three innings of action. Five different pitchers saw action out of the Lake Erie bullpen, Andrew Berger, Brad Mountain, and Paul Daniels all tossed scoreless innings of relief.

Davis led the way for Lake Erie offensively, going 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Mahin was solid at the plate for the second night in a row, reaching base in four out of five plate appearances, with a single, a double, and two runs scored.

Crestwood, Ill. -- The Lake Erie Crushers scored first in their 2011 opener against Windy City on Thursday night at Standard Bank Stadium, but surrendered seven runs in the bottom of the second, as they fell by the final score of 9-1.

Lake Erie (0-1) scored their lone run of the contest in the top of the second inning on Patrick Norris’s two-out base hit which plated Nick Mahin, but Windy City (1-0) responded by scoring nine unanswered runs the rest of the way.

After retiring the first batter of the second inning, Josh Roberts (0-1) surrendered three consecutive singles to load the bases. He struck out Mike Torres to record the second out, and gave up a two-run single to Josh Womack. Roberts then walked Brandon Anderson to load the bases again before Ryan Basham ripped a bases clearing double off the wall in left to plate the next three runs.

The Thunderbolts added two more runs in the second, on Zach Aakhus’s single and a double from Garrett Regan. Windy City sent 11 batters to the plate in the big frame, scoring seven times on seven hits. They would add two more runs, getting an RBI double from Aakhus in the fourth, and the same from Chase Porch an inning later.

The Crushers had chances, but could not cash in, as they hit into four double plays on the evening.

Windy City lefty Todd Privett (1-0) was solid through six innings in a winning effort, allowing just a run on six hit with a pair of strikeouts. Matt Jernstad came out on in relief for the Thunderbolts and tossed three scoreless innings.

The Crushers’ bullpen held the Thunderbolts to just a run on two hits through the final four innings of the game. Four different pitchers, Andrew Berger, Greg Hendrix, Jeff Cinadr, and Ruben Flores all tossed one inning of relief.

Mahin paced the Crushers offensively, going 2-for-2 with a base hit, a double, and a walk. Chase Fontaine and Kyle Poe were the only other players to reach safely twice for the Crushers, Fontaine went 1-for-1 with a single and a walk, while Poe went 1-for-1 with a double and a free pass.

The Crushers and Thunderbolts will square off again on Friday night. Right hander Travis Risser will get the start for Lake Erie, and the Thunderbolts will counter with lefty Paul Fagan. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM.

Here is the Morning Journal preview of the pitching staff

Here is a link to the Morning Journal's preview of the Crushers offense.