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.