Keeping Up with the Crushers

July 2, 2011: River City Rascals at Lake Erie Crushers

2011-07-02T18:47:00.002-04:00

The Crushers have won four in a row for the first time this year including three game sweep of Gateway. The Crushers (17-22) are now in fourth place seven games behind Windy City in the East Division. The reward is the hottest team in the Frontier League, West leader River City (28-11). The Rascals have also won four in a row and have won 12 of their last 13.

The Crushers will start Jairo Cuevas (0-2, 5.79) against Erick Carillo, who is making his first start for the Rascals.

June 29, 2011: Gateway at Lake Erie

2011-06-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

Gateway (15-21) at Lake Erie (14-22)

Starting Lineups

Grizzlies

CF Brandt Barnes
SS Brian Harris
1b Logan Parker
DH Charlie Lisk
RF Joe Agreste
LF Brandon Peters
C Landon Hernandez
3b Tyler Heil
2b Jeremy Cresswell

SP Blake Barber 0-1, 10.24 ERA

Crushers

CF Patrick Norris
SS Jodam Rivera
3B Andrew Davis
C Joel Collins
RF Nick Mahin
DH Kellen Kulbacki
1b Jason Tyler
LF Chris Luick
2b Zac Messer

SP Paul Fagan 2-4, 5.45 ERA

Notes
Crushers went 1-2 on quick road trip to Windy City. They are tied for last in the East, seven games behind Windy City. Gateway is fifth in the West ten games behind River City.

Notes

June 23, 2011: Beach Bums at Crushers

2011-06-23T18:38:00.002-04:00

Traverse City (16-15) at Lake Erie (12-19)

Starting lineups

RF Matt Brown
2b James Guerrero
LF JT Hall
1b Chase Burch
3b Jose Vargas
DH Evan Sharpley
SS Tom Zebroski
C Nate Peterson
2b Zack Pace

SP Bryan Banes (3-0)

Crushers (12-19)

SS Jodam Rivera
RF Nick Mahin
3b Andrew Davis
C Joel Collins
CF Scott Houin
1b Jason Taylor
DH Kyle Shaffer
2b Zac Messer
LF Kyle Boe

SP Rob Wendizki (0-0)

Notes
Jodam Rivera had two hits including a homer in his first two at bats in his return last night. He has been moved to the lead off spot.
Rob Wendizki is making his first start for the Crushers in his pro debut. Wendizki was the SWC pitcher of the year his senior year at Midpark. He played college ball at Eastern Michigan.

June 22, 2011: Beach Bums at Crushers

2011-06-22T18:30:00.000-04:00

Traverse City (16-14) at Lake Erie (11-19)

Starting Lineups

Beach Bums

RF Matt Brown
DH Zach Pace
LF JT Hall
1b Chase Burch
3b Jose Vargas
SS Tom Zebroski
CF Jason Codiroli
C Brandon Pearl
2b James Guerrero

Sp Justin Anderson 0-0

Crushers
RF Patrick Norris
SS Jodam Rivera
3b Andrew Davis
C Joel Collins
CF Scott Houin
DH Nick Mahin
1b Jason Taylor
LF Chris Luick
2b Adam Gliebe

SP Randy Sturgill

Notes
Jodam Rivera is back in the lineup for the first time this season. Sturgill is making his first professional start. Before the game - Amherst's Tyler Parrish, the Vermilion girls state relay team, Elyria softball team and Keystone boys baseball teams were honored on the field before the game.

June 21, 2011: Windy City at Lake Erie

2011-06-21T18:33:00.002-04:00

ThuderBolts (16-13) at Crushers (11-18)

Starting Lineups

Windy City

2b Mike Torres
CF Brandon Anderson
C Zach Aakhus
DH Devin Shepherd
1b Chad Chegar
SS Chris Wade
LF Ryan Basham
RF Chase Porch
3b Nick Kuroczko

SP Dustin Williams (3-2)

Lake Erie

RF Patrick Norris
DH Nick Mahin
3b Andrew Davis
C Joel Collins
CF Scott Houin
1b Jason Taylor
LF Chris Luick
2b Zac Messer
SS Adam Gliebe

SP Jairo Cuevas (0-0)

Notes:
The Crushers have won three in row and 4 of the last five. They go for the series sweep against East Division leader Windy City tonight. It is Cuevas first start of the season for the Crushers.

June 20, 2011: Windy City at Lake Erie

2011-06-20T18:47:00.002-04:00

Thunderbolts (16-12) at Crushers (10-18)

Windy City

2b Mike Torres
CF Brandon Anderson
C Zach Aakhus
DH Devin Shephard
1b Craig Cregar
SS Chris Wade
LF Ryan Basham
RF Chase Porch
3b Nick Kuroczko

SP Bryant Cotton (2-1)

Lake Erie

RF Patrick Norris RF
DH Nick Mahin
3b Andrew Davis
LF Kellen Kulbacki
CF Scott Houin
1b Jason Taylor
C Kyle Shaffer
2b Zac Messer
SS Adam Gliebe

SP Andrew Weeks (2-3)

Notes
"Now, we won a ball game yesterday. If we win one today, that's two in a row. We win one tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before." - Lou Brown, Major League II

The Crushers have won two in a row. It is only the second time the team has accomplished that this season. They have yet to win three in a row.

June 19, 2011: Windy City at Lake Erie

2011-06-19T16:45:00.004-04:00

Starting lineups

Thunderbirds (16-11)
2b Mike Torres
CF Brandon Anderson
C Zach Aakhus
DH Devin Shepherd
LF Ryan Basham
SS Chris Wade
1b Chad Cregar
RF Chase Porch
3b Pascual Del Real

SP Todd Privett

Crushers (9-18)

RF Patrick Norrs
1b Nick Mahin
SS Andrew Davis
DH Kellen Kulbacki
CF Scott Houin
3b Jason Taylor
C Kyle Shaffer C
LF Chris Luick
2b Zac Messer

SP Paul Fagan

Game Notes
Crushers won 2 of 3 against Rockford after a 0-6 homestand. The Crushers activated Robby Kuzdale from the disabled list. Kuzdale has been out since a collision at home plate during the first home stand of the season. Windy City is in first place in the East a full 7 games ahead of last place Lake Erie. Windy City has only three home runs this season.

Thoughts on pulling a lineup out of a hat.

2011-06-15T19:05:00.004-04:00

So the word around the press box is that tonight's starting lineup for the Crushers was picked out of a hat.

Now it has been to be confirmed and I will ask manager John Massarelli after the game but lets just say no one is the Crushers organization is denying it.

It looks like Andrew Davis was protected as he is still hitting third but the rest of the lineup is unlike any so far this year.

If it is true - it reeks of desperation. I guess that losing 10 of 11 will do that but the reason the Crushers are losing is not because of bad luck. They are losing because they are not playing the game the right way. This team has been brutal on the bases running themselves into way too many out.

Massarelli knows his team better than I do so hopefully this will work. But say they win -- do you keep it? Seems like a slap in the face to the game of baseball to me.

Play hard. Play right. Do your best and work out of it. This seems like a gimmick. It is something my crappy little league coach did when I was in the fourth grade. Didn't like it then and don't like it now.

But hey Andrew Davis just homered in the first. Where does he normally hit? Oh wait that's right the Crushers best player always hits third.

June 15, 2011: Beach Bums at Crushers

2011-06-15T18:40:00.002-04:00

Traverse City (10-13) at Lake Erie (7-16)

Starting Lineups

RF Matt Brown
2b James Guerrero
LF JT Hall
1B Chase Burch
3B Jose Vargas
DH Evan Sharpley
C Nate Peterson
SS Tom Zebroski
CF Zach Pace

SP Wayde Kitchens

Lake Erie

2b Adam Gliebe
DH Kyle Shaffer
SS Andrew Davis
CF Scott Houin
1b Chrus Luick
LF Kyle Boe
C Joel Collins
RF Kellen Kulbacki
3b Jason Taylor

SP Andrew Weeks

Notes
Allegedly tonight's batting order for the Crushers was picked out of hat. At least that is the story swirling around the press box. Will try to confirm with Massarelli after the game.

June 14, 2011: Traverse City at Lake Erie

2011-06-14T18:41:00.003-04:00

Starting Lineups

Beach Bums (9-13)
RF Matt Brown
2b James Guerrero
LF JT Hall
1b Chase Burch
3b Joe Vargas
DH Evan Sharpley
C Nate Peterson
SS Tom Zebroski
CF Jason Coderoli

SP Spencer Shelton

Crushers (7-15)
RF Patrick Norris
1B Nick Mahin
SS Andrew Davis
CF Scott Houin
LF Kellen Kulbacki
3b Jason Taylor
DH Kyle Shaffer
C Joel Collins
2b Zac Messer

SP Paul Fagan

Notes
The Crushers have lost four straight at home and five overall. They are 1-9 in their last 10 games. Fagan is 0-3 this season. Shelton is 0-2.

June 12 2011: Miners at Crushers

2011-06-12T16:26:00.003-04:00

Southern Illinois (14-6) at Lake Erie (7-13)

Starting Lineups

LF Eric Suttle
RF Josh Womack
DH Sean Coughlin
1b Matt Fields
3b Nate Hall
CF Jerem Milons
2b Will Block
C Trey Manz
SS Keni Sakaguchi

SP Shawn Joy

Crushers

CF Scott Houin
RF Felix Martinez
3b Andrew Davis
DH Kellen Kulbacki
1B Nick Mahin
C Kyle Shaffer
LF Kyle Boe
2B Zac Messer
SS Adam Gliebe

SP Greg Hendrix

Notes
*It is Country Night at All Pro Freight. The staff is decked out in cowboy hats.
*Hendrix is making his first start for the Crushers. He has made seven relief appearances where he has an ERA of 1.64. Opponents are hitting .205 against him.
*Joy is making his fifth start of the season. He is 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA.

June 11: Crushers vs Miners

2011-06-11T18:32:00.003-04:00

Southern Illinois (13-6) at Lake Erie (7-12)

Starting lineups

Miners
LF Eric Suttle
RF Josh Womack
C Sean Coughlin
1B Matt Fields
3B Nate Hall
CF Jereme Milons
2B Will Block
DH Cannon Lester
SS Kenji Sakaguchi

SP Sean Teague

Crushers
CF Scott Houin
RF Felix Martinez
3B Andrew Davis
LF Kellen Kulbacki
DH Nick Mahin
C Joel Collins
1b Jason Taylor
SS Zac Messer
2b Adam Gliebe

SP Travis Risser

June 10, 2011: Southern Illinois Miners at Lake Erie Crushers

2011-06-10T18:44:00.002-04:00

Southern Illinois (12-6) at Lake Erie (7-11)

The Crushers went 1-5 on the road trip and are tied for last place in the East Division. The Miners are tied for first in the West Division.

Starting Lineups

Southern Illinois
LF Eric Suttle
CF Jereme Milons
C Sean Coughlin
1b Matt Fields
3b Nate Hall
DH Tyler Bullock
2b Will Block
RF Josh Womack
SS Kenji Sakaguchi

P Ryan Zink

Lake Erie
CF Scott Houin
RF Felix Martinez
SS Andrew Davis
DH Kellen Kulbacki
1b Nick Mahin
3b Jason Taylor
C Joel Collins
LF Chris Luick
2b Zac Messer

SP Andrew Weeks

Cornbelters smack around Fagan

2011-06-01T19:06:00.000-04:00

Crusher fall behind early and lose to Normal

Crushers improve to 5-5

2011-06-01T10:48:00.000-04:00

Account of Crushers win over CornBelters on Tuesday night

June 1 2011: Crushers vs Cornbelters

2011-06-01T10:27:00.002-04:00

Normal Cornbelters (4-6) at Lake Erie Crushers (5-5)
Ryan Sheldon (1-0, 1.29) vs Paul Fagan (0-0 0.00)

Starting Lineups

Normal
Alvaro Ramierez CF
Frank Martinez 2b
Daniel Cox 3b
Jeff Dunbar c
Colin Moro LF
Steven Alexander 1b
Ashif Shah RF
Tyler Keeble SS
Brad Agustin DH

Lake Erie
Patrick Norris CF
Scott Houin RF
Andrew Davis 3b
Jason Taylor DH
Nick Mahin 1b
Chris Luick LF
Kyle Shaffer C
Kyle Boe 2b
Zac Messer SS

Crushers rally but fall 5-4

2011-05-29T22:55:00.001-04:00

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

May 29, 2011: Slammers at Crushers

2011-05-29T16:46:00.003-04:00

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

Kulbacki wins game with walkoff single

2011-05-29T14:40:00.001-04:00

Crushers get first home win of the season

Crushers lose home opener

2011-05-29T14:39:00.000-04:00

Game story of Crushers home opener

Crushers finish roadtrip 3-3

2011-05-27T01:33:00.002-04:00

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.

Risser roughed up again

2011-05-26T13:25:00.002-04:00

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.

Crushers now 2-2

2011-05-25T23:34:00.000-04:00

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.

Crushers trade for former star Fagan

2011-05-25T22:48:00.002-04:00

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.

There is an app for that

2011-05-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

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.”

Crushers get first win

2011-05-23T23:26:00.002-04:00

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.

Crushers fall to 0-2

2011-05-21T17:12:00.001-04:00

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.

Crushers lose opener on the road

2011-05-20T00:07:00.000-04:00

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.

A look at the Crushers pitching staff

2011-05-20T00:02:00.002-04:00

Here is the Morning Journal preview of the pitching staff

Welcome back Crushers fans

2011-05-20T00:00:00.002-04:00

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

Last game of the season

2010-09-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

Kalamazoo Kings (28-67) at Lake Erie Crushers (49-46)
Joe DiPietro (6-10, 6.20) vs Matt Smith (9-7, 3.95)

Kings
Joe Dan Poulter 2b
Brendan Murphy DH
JJ Sferra LF
Jeff Helps SS
Eric Suttle CF
Lee Rubin C
Bryan Marquez 3b
Tyler Herron 1b
Kris Miller RF

Crushers
Dom Duggan CF
Wayne Bond RF
Andrew Davis SS
Lee Huggins 3b
Matt Sutton DH
Raphael Turner LF
Jodam Rivera 2b
Julio Rivera C
Casey McGrew 1b

Pregame Notes:
- The Crushers secured a winning season with a 5-3 over the Kings last night.
- Josh Roberts became the second Crusher to win 10 games in season last night. Paul Fagan won 14 last season. Matt Smith is going for his 10th tonight.
- The Crushers entered the game with a .980 fielding percentage as a team. The league record is .979.

September 4 2010: Kings at Crushers

2010-09-04T19:06:00.002-04:00

Kalamazoo (28-66) at Lake Erie (48-46)
Jimmy Stanley (1-4) vs. Josh Roberts (9-5)

Kings (28-66)
JJ Sferra LF
Eric Suttle CF
Kris Miller RF
Matt Greener 3b
Lee Rubin DH
Brendan Murphy 1b
Bryan Marquez SS
Jeff Helps 2b
Pat Hanley C

Crushers (48-46)
Dom Duggan CF
Wayne Bond LF
Andrew Davis SS
Lee Huggins 3b
Joel Huggins 3b
Matt Sutton DH
Jodam Rivera 2b
Arden McWilliams RF
Casey McGrew 1b

Pregame Notes
- Crushers have set a Frontier League record for double plays with 110. Old record was 103 set in 2005 by Evansville.
- Crushers fielding percentage is .980, the league record is .979 set in 2006 and 2008 by Traverse City.
- Crushers won their sixth in a row with a 1-0 win over the Kings last night. It assured no worse than a .500 finish.
- Last night's crowd of 4,517 was the 17th crowd of over 3,500 this season. Last season there was only 13.

Frontier League Post season Award winners

2010-09-02T18:48:00.000-04:00

The Crushers had two winners today as the Frontier League named its post-season awards while the season is still going on.

Ryan Gates was named Executive of the Year and Drew Saylor won the Fran Riordan Citizenship Award.

Gates has the Lake Erie Crushers in position to surpass the club’s 2009 attendance this weekend. In their second season of existence, Lake Erie has seen increases in both revenue and attendance at All Pro Freight Stadium, and will host the 2011 All-Star Game.

Saylor was honored for his work in northeast Ohio as the Citizenship Award winner. Drew, who also serves as a volunteer coach for Cleveland State University, is in his second season with the Crushers and fifth season overall in professional baseball.

Catcher Charlie Lisk of the Gateway Grizzlies, starting pitcher Joe Augustine of the Southern Illinois Miners, starting pitcher Dustin Williams of the Windy City ThunderBolts, and field manager Gera Alvarez of the Oakland County Cruisers headline the Frontier League’s 2010 Post-Season All-Star Team and award winners. The Southern Illinois Miners repeated as Organization of the Year.

Charlie Lisk was voted the Morgan Burkhart Award winner as Most Valuable Player along with being voted the catcher on the All-Star Team for the third consecutive season. Charlie recently set the Frontier League’s career home run record and is currently leading the League with 87 RBI while ranking second with 21 home runs and third with his .315 batting average.

Joe Augustine won the Brian Tollberg Award as Pitcher of the Year. Joe leads the Frontier League with his 1.97 ERA and 121 strikeouts while being tied for third with ten wins on the season and has helped pitch Southern Illinois to their first division title and the top seed in the Frontier League playoffs.

Dustin Williams was voted the Jason Simontacchi Award winner as Rookie of the Year. Williams, who made his professional debut in June out of Oklahoma City University, has a 7-3 record and 2.41 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 100.2 innings for the East Division leading ThunderBolts.

Gera Alvarez won the Rogers Hanners Award as Manager of the Year. Gera has led the Oakland County Cruisers to a club-record 52 wins, a ten game improvement over 2009, and has the Cruisers tied for the East Division Wild Card spot despite their playing the bulk of the 2010 season as a road team.

The Southern Illinois Miners attracted over 200,000 fans for the fourth consecutive season, finishing the regular season with an average attendance of 4,253 fans. The Miners were also host of the 2010 Frontier League All-Star Game.

The complete Post-Season All-Star Team and award winners are:

1B - Joash Brodin - Oakland County Cruisers
2B - Gilberto Mejia - Windy City ThunderBolts
3B - Daniel Cox - Normal CornBelters
SS - Stephen Shults - Florence Freedom
C - Charlie Lisk - Gateway Grizzlies
DH - Chase Burch - Traverse City Beach Bums
OF - Stephen Holdren - River City Rascals
OF - Jereme Milons - Southern Illinois Miners
OF - Jason Patton - Gateway Grizzlies
SP - Joe Augustine - Southern Illinois Miners
RP - P.J. Zocchi - Oakland County Cruisers

Morgan Burkhart Award (MVP) - Charlie Lisk, Gateway Grizzlies
Brian Tollberg Award (Pitcher of the Year) - Joe Augustine, Southern Illinois Miners
Jason Simontacchi Award (Rookie of the Year) - Dustin Williams, Windy City ThunderBolts
Roger Hanners Award (Manager of the Year) - Gera Alvarez, Oakland County Cruisers
Fran Riordan Award (Citizenship) - Drew Saylor, Lake Erie Crushers

Coach of the Year - Randy Martz, Gateway Grizzlies
Trainer of the Year - Geof Manzo, Gateway Grizzlies
Groundskeeper of the Year - Ben Young, Gateway Grizzlies
Newspaper of the Year - The Daily Republican (Marion, Illinois)
Writer of the Year - Steve Millar, SouthtownStar (Tinley Park, Illinois)
Broadcaster of the Year - Joe Pott, Gateway Grizzlies
Clubbie of the Year - Denny Dame, Traverse City Beach Bums
Executive of the Year - Ryan Gates, Lake Erie Crushers
Organization of the Year - Southern Illinois Miners
Umpire of the Year - Tony Maners

Voting for awards was done by general managers, coaching staffs, and local media in all 12 Frontier League markets.

August 21, 2010: Southern Illinois at Lake Erie

2010-08-21T18:30:00.003-04:00

Can't post the starting lineups because Southern Illinois manager Mike Pinto is refusing to make a lineup card until he is assured there is going to be a game. It is raining at All Pro Freight and several rain systems are in the area.

UPDATE: The Crushers expect to start playing around 7:30 p.m. so Mike Pinto has graciously posted a roster for the press box.

Southern Illinois Miners (58-24) at Lake Erie (38-44)
Randy Johnson (0-0, 4.05) vs Josh Roberts (7-3, 3.07)

Southern Illinois
Will Block 2b
Michael Stalter ss
Nate Hall 3b
Stephen Head 1b
Jereme Milons CF
Todd Martin DH
Brendan Akashian C
Lenell McGee RF
Kent Gerst LF

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

Pregame Notes:
- It is very wet at All Pro Freight Stadium. It has been raining for hours.
- Lee Huggins and Joel Collins each had three hits last night.
- Travis Risser had his eighth quality start of the season last night tying him with Matt Smith for the second place on the tam. Tonight's Josh Roberts has a team high 10.

Aug 20, 2010: Southern Illinois at Lake Erie

2010-08-20T18:38:00.002-04:00

Southern Illinois Miners (57-24) at Lake Erie Crushers (38-43)
Ryan Bird (4-1, 2.00) vs Travis Risser (6-4, 3.30)

Southern Illinois
Will Block 2b
Stephen Head 1b
Nate Hall 3b
Joey Metropoulos RF
Jereme Milons CF
Tyler Bullock DH
Brendan Akashian C
Michael Stalter SS
Kent Gerst LF

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF
Raphael Turner LF
Andrew Davis SS
Matt Sutton DH
Lee Huggins 3b
Casey McGrew 1b
Joel Collins C
Jodam Rivera 2b
Trae Gore RF

Pregame Notes:
- The Crushers were shut out for the seventh time this season last night against Normal. Lake Erie had three hits which was one more than Normal's two but lost 2-0. Twice this season Lake Erie has limited an opponent to two hits and LOST both games.

- Southern Illinois first baseman Stephen Head was drafted by the Indians in 2005 as the 62nd pick in the draft. He played for Triple A Columbus last season before being released.

August 17, 2010: Normal at Lake Erie

2010-08-17T18:54:00.003-04:00

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.

August 7, 2010: Oakland County at Lake Erie

2010-08-07T18:26:00.003-04:00

Oakland County Cruisers (43-27) at Lake Erie Crushers (34-36)
James Albury (6-3, 4.15) at Josh Roberts (6-3, 2.56)

Cruisers
Zachary Pace CF
Bobby Andrews LF
Jeremy Jones DH
Joash Brodin 1b
Kyle Maunus 3b
Dan Killian C
Luis Fernandez SS
Robbie Tolan RF
Bobby Burk 2b

Crushers
Jodam Rivera SS
Drew Saylor 2b
Andrew Davis 3b
Matt Sutton DH
Adam Amar 1b
Joel Collins C
Wayne Bond LF
Arden McWilliams RF
Dom Duggan CF

Pregame Notes:
- Crushers took two from first place Oakland County last night. The first game, a 5-1 win in 15 innings, was the completetion of the July 24 game that was suspended tied at 4 in the 13th inning. Trae Gore scored on Dom Duggan's base hit in the 15th. After scoring Gore was put on the disabled list to make room for new DH Matt Sutton.
-Sutton homered in his first game for the Crushers which was 9-1 7-inning win in the night cap. Sutton is expected to hit fourth and protect Andrew Davis in the lineup. Adam Amar also joined the team last night. He will play first base while Eddie Tisdale is on the disabled list.
- The Crushers are now nine games behind the Cruisers and in fourth place in the Eastern Division. They are six games behind the second place Windy City for the second and final Eastern Division playoff spot.

New Crusher faces

2010-08-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

The Crushers added two new faces to the roster last night, designated hitter Matt Sutton and first baseman Adam Amer.

Sutton made his presence instantly felt with a two run home run in the fifth inning.

Sutton was with the team in the preseason but suffered an injury. He was just recently cleared to play. Sutton played for current Crusher manager John Massarelli in Washington in 2007 when he hit .295 with 12 home run with 58 RBI. Sutton had 100 hits that season. Sutton played for the Wild Things from 2007-2009. Overall he hit .277 with 30 HR and 136 RBI.

Sutton started his college career at UNC-Wilmington before transferring to Coastal Carolina.

Amar started the season with the Washington Wild Things. In 42 games he hit .255 with 2 HR and 26 RBI. He was traded to Normal where he hit .216 in 14 games before being released.

Amar played for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York Penn League in 2009, collecting 17 hits, four doubles, two home runs and nine RBI in 35 games. In 2008, he batted.302 with nine home runs in 67 games for Auburn of the New York Penn League, leading the team in hits (76), doubles (17) and RBI (42). Amar had a 12-game hitting streak from July 4-18, including seven straight multi-hit games from July 9-16.

The Lake Mary, Fla., native made his professional debut in 2007, playing 24 games with Reno of the independent Golden Baseball League and batting.354 with 22 runs, 34 hits, 11 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBI. Amar graduated from Memphis in 2007 as the school's all-time leader in games played (217), hits (276) and RBI (192). A four-year letterman, he batted.358 as a senior and.398 as a junior. His honors accumulated during his collegiate career include C-USA First Team, C-USA All-Tournament Team and NCAA Nashville Regional Tournament Team selections.

Man in Black assists Crushers

2010-08-02T22:22:00.004-04:00

Lake Erie manager John Massarelli is a big fan of Johnny Cash. He often has the Man in Black's songs play during batting practice. Many of his players aren't quite enamored by the music.

They better get used it.

The Crushers have not hit all season and it has been profoundly bad since the All-Star break. Massarelli told his team if they didn't start hitting they would lose their walk up music.

In the 7th inning, Arden McWilliams picked up the Crushers third hit of the game. He hit a solo shot to break what was a scoreless tie.

In the 8th inning, Jodam Rivera walked to the plate and stopped. Instead of his music, the PA was blasting Walk the Line.

It worked as Rivera doubled. Up next was Andrew Davis and instead of country music it was Ring of Fire. Davis who broke an 0 for 24 the day before, singled and drove home Rivera. The Kings went to their pen and the All Pro Freight crowd may have become the first baseball crowd to hear Folsom Prison Blues in its entirety. Saylor walked and then music guy Bill Dziatlcowicz had a problem. He was out of Cash songs. He played Big John by Billy Dean for Joel Collins. Collins flew out but Davis went to third. Billy D started the Cash list over. Lee Huggins hit into a fielders choice which scored Davis. Wayne Bond singled and an error allowed Huggins and Bond into scoring position which paid off when a passed ball scored Huggins. The Crushers went on to win 4-0.

After the game Massarelli explained the reason for the music.
"I told them if I had to continue watch them not hit at least I would enjoy the music," Massarelli said. "We are going to play Johnny Cash until we score 10."
Massarelli liked the music but wasn't ready to credit it with the hits.

"I don't know if that had anything to do with it but we strung some at bats in the eighth."

Travis Risser made his first start since coming off the DL. He pitched well but was limited to five innings. He was one of three Crusher pitchers to hold the Kings scoreless. Ronnie Morales pitched the sixth and Cinadr the last three.
Cinadr is now 4-1 and his ERA is 1.68. He has become the team's go to reliever.
Cinadr said the Johnny Cash music moved from pregame to the game.

"They play it a lot during batting practice," he said. "Not a whole lot of people like it but is is Mas's favorite artist or one of them. Mas said it is Johnny Cash walk ups now for everyone."

When asked if he liked Johnny Cash, Cinadr said, "I like some of his stuff but I can't listen to it all day every day like Mas could."

McWilliams had a confession after the game.

"Until the movie came out I had no idea who Johnny Cash was."
McWilliams is a fan now.

"Now I like it is our rally song. In baseball it’s weird there are superstitious guys and there are guys who aren’t but whenever we have a rally and believe it could be due to anything,” McWilliams said. “If a Johnny Cash song is key to our rally then so be it. I would be happy to have Johnny Cash be my walkout song for the rest of the season.”

Notes:
- On July 24 game the Crushers had scheduled two seven-inning games against first place Oakland County. The Crushers won the first game 2-1 despite getting only one hit. The second game was still tied 4-4 after 13 innings. That game will be completed on Friday, Aug. 6 with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. The originally scheduled 7:05 game, by minor league rules, will be seven innings.
- First baseman Eddie Tisdale was put on the 14-day disabled list for a wrist injury.

August 2, 2010: Kings at Crushers

2010-08-02T17:15:00.003-04:00

Kalamazoo Kings (17-48) at Lake Erie Crushers (31-33)
Alex Symanski (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Travis Risser (5-2, 3.59)

Starting Lineups

Kalamazoo
JJ Sferra LF
Eric Suttle CF
Matt Maloney 1b
Matt Greener 3b
Brendan Murphy DH
Bryan Marquez SS
Kris Miller RF
Jeff Helps 2b
Jett Ruiz C

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Drew Saylor 2b
Joel Collins C
Lee Huggins 1b
Wayne Bond LF
Arden McWilliams RF
Raphael Turner DH

Game Notes:
- Last night's 2-1 loss was the Crushers' 12th loss in the last 14 games. In six of those losses the Crushers allowed 1,4,4,2,3 and 2 runs.
- Lake Erie is hitting .235 as a team. Kalamazoo is the only team worse hitting .229. Windy City leads the Frontier League with a .279 average.
- Kalamazoo starter Alex Szymanski is making his second professional start. The true rookie out of Franklin Pierce University threw seven shutout innings in his first start on July 28 at home against Windy City. The lefty allowed three hits, three walks and struck out two. He left with a 4-0 lead but his bullpen allowed four runs in the 8th. The Kings would win 6-5 in 10 innings.
- The Crusher bullpen allowed an unearned run in the sixth to halt their scoreless streak at 15.1. The unearned streak remains at 19 innings.

Crushers lose 12th of last 14

2010-08-02T17:10:00.003-04:00

The Crushers lost to last place Kalamazoo 2-1 last night. Video and story here.

August 1, 2010: Kalamazoo at Lake Erie

2010-08-01T16:30:00.002-04:00

Kalamazoo Kings (16-48) at Lake Erie Crushers (31-32)
Guido Fonseca Jr. (1-5, 6.09) vs Alberto Rolon (2-2, 3.02)

Kalamazoo
JJ Sferra LF
Eric Suttle CF
Matt Maloney 1b
Matt Greener 3b
Lee Rubin C
Brendan Murphy DH
Kris Miller RF
Bryan Marquez SS
Jeff Helps 2b

Lake Erie
Jodam Rivera SS
Raphael Turner DH
Andrew Davis 3b
Drew Saylor 2b
Lee Huggins 1b
Wayne Bond LF
Arden McWilliams RF
Julio RIvera C
Dom Duggan CF

Pregame Notes:
- The Crushers snapped a franchise record six game losing streak last night. Arden McWilliams was the hero with a two-out, two-run home run in the seventh inning. It was McWilliams sixth of the season and first since June 16.
-Since the All Star break, McWilliams leads the team with .265 average.
- The Crushers bullpen threw four scoreless innings last night to extend their scoreless streak to 15 innings dating to July 26.

Crushers end losing streak

2010-08-01T16:20:00.002-04:00

The Crushers followed their worst week at home where they lost four in a row before winning a game 2-1 with just one hit with the worst road trip in the two year history of the franchise. The Crushers lost all six games to Windy City and Washington. By losing 10 of 11, Lake Erie fell below .500 and dropped from second place and in the playoffs to fourth place, 9 and half out of first.

The Crusher opened a quick three game home stand with a 3-1 win over last place Kalamazoo. As bad as the last two weeks have been, the Crushers are only three and half games out of the second place and the final Eastern Division playoff spot.

The key will be if the Crushers can hit. Third baseman Andrew Davis is hitting .309 with a team high seven home runs. Jodam Rivera has seen his average plumment to .282. Eddie Tisdale is third on the team with .260 average. Raphael Turner who joined the team just before the all-star break is hitting .245. No one else is above .230. The team batting average is .235, which is only better than Kalamazoo's .230.

Crushers win first game of doubleheader despite just one hit

2010-07-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

Crushers end losing streak despite one hit
By ZACHARY DZURICK

AVON - Sometimes all it takes is one.
The Crushers have struggled to string together hits in their five game losing streak. Finding a two out hit with men on base has been even more difficult.
In the second inning, Arden McWilliams came through with a two-out, two-RBI double. It was the Crushers only hit of the game but the two runs were all that starter Josh Roberts needed as Lake Erie defeated first place Oakland County 2-1.
Roberts (6-1) continued his outstanding season. He allowed just one unearned run and three hits in going the distance.
Both games of the double-header were scheduled for just seven innings by Frontier League rules.
Roberts was asked how often he won a game when his team managed just one hit.
“I don’t think too many,” Roberts said. “We were lucky enough to put two runs on the board early and the defense came through in the end. We ended the losing streak and started a winning streak.”
There was a 16-minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning. Roberts said it affected him a bit.
“After the rain delay I had to restart,” Roberts said. “I got stronger throughout the game and started locating my inside fastball a little more and played to my defense.”
Roberts lowered his ERA to 1.96. He missed all of 2008 with Tommy John surgery and spent last season bouncing around the Marlins system. This season Roberts has really pitched well and become the ace of the Crushers staff.
“This is by far my best, healthy season,” Roberts said. “It’s a lot of hard work paying off big time.”
Roberts allowed his only run when he returned after the delay. Oakland County’s Joash Brodin reached on shortstop Jodam Rivera’s error to start the second. Brodin advanced to third on Kyle Maunus’s single to right. Roberts struck out Martin Parra for the first out and Luis Fernandez for the second out but the ball got lost behind catcher Joel Collins. Brodin scampered home for the run. Parra, who was running on the pitch, went to third. The umpire ruled Fernandez out because first base was occupied.
The Crushers took their first lead since Tuesday in the bottom of the second. With one out, Wayde Kitchens (4-2) walked two but responded to strike out Wayne Bond. Arden McWilliams stepped up with a two-out two-RBI double.
“He went down on me 2-0 and I knew he was going to come with a fastball,” McWilliams said. “So I geared up for it and he threw one out over the plate and I got good wood on it.”
McWilliams said the team is about finding any way to win even if it is with just one hit.
“It shows how good our defense and pitching is,” McWilliams said.” Josh Roberts did a great job.”
Roberts has a habit of getting batters to hit the ball right back to him. He did four times against the Cruisers.
“(Roberts) has a lot of sinking action on his fastball and gets a lot of groundballs,” McWilliams said. “We laugh that he leads the league for most comeback plays.”

The Crushers had lost five in a row, all at home and dropped to third place. McWilliams admitted the team was starting to feel the pressure.
“For a little bit there, we were playing tight, trying to do too much,” McWilliams said. “Maz called us in the other day and said, ‘I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on you guys. I just want you to play loose and relax and play Crusher baseball.’”
The Crushers had a chance to score in fourth but could not take advantage. Kitchens walked the first two batters in the inning. Raphael Turner nearly beat out his bunt that moved up both runners. Bond worked a walk to load the bases and Kitchens day was done. He allowed just one hit but walked six. Taylor Wulf came and shut the door by striking out McWilliams and getting Dom Duggan to ground into a force at third.
Notes:
- Jodam Rivera crushed a ball down the right field line in the first inning. Rivera appeared to hit the ball over the foul pole for a home run but the field umpire ruled it foul. If Rivera had hit the pole, not only would it have a home run but also everyone in the park would have won a free chicken sandwich from Chik-Fil-A.
- The Crushers have new grill items created by chef Wilson. They have Philly and Chicken cheese steaks plus a Tuscan Cheese Burger, which is two beef patties, hot ham, white American cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato and Italian dressing. But for many the highlight is the four gourmet hot dogs. A Crusher dog features bacon, chili, cheese and onions. The Big Pig has bacon, pulled pork, BBQ cheese sauce and white American cheese. The Dagwood has ham, pepperoni, salami, cheese, lettuce, mayo and brown mustard. The BLT is exactly what it sounds like. All four feature ¼ all beef dog. All of these mouth-watering products can be found on the third base party deck for just $6.

Crushers 2, Cruisers 1
Oakland County (38-18) 100 000 0 – 1 3 0
Lake Erie (30-26) 020 000 0 – 2 1 1
2b – LE: McWilliams; WP – Roberts (6-1); LP – Kitchens (4-2)

July 20, 2010: Traverse City at Lake Erie

2010-07-20T17:20:00.002-04:00

Traverse City Beach Bums (27-25) at Lake Erie Crushers (29-23)
Michael Moore (4-1, 2.46) vs Phil Rummel (2-4, 5.68)

Traverse City
Matt Brown RF
Jason Cordiroli CF
Michael Diaz 2b
Chase Burch DH
J.T. Hall LF
C.J. Ziegler 1b
Andrew Franco C
Bobby Spain 3b
Chris Engell SS

Lake Erie
Raphael Turner LF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Eddie Tisdale 1b
Drew Saylor 1b
Joel Collins C
Casey McGrew DH
Trae Gore RF
Dom Duggan CF

Notes:
- Andrew Davis had two more hits last night to improve his league leading total to 68.
- The Crushers turned three more double plays last night and lead the league with 60. They have also committed the fewest errors in the league with 42.
- Phil Rummel returns after missing his last start after spending a few days on the disabled list.

Crushers start big week with a loss

2010-07-20T17:17:00.003-04:00

Crushers fall 4-2 to Traverse City. See video and read story here.

Also the Crushers make roster moves and have ton of promotions.

July 19: Traverse City at Lake Erie

2010-07-19T18:45:00.002-04:00

Traverse City Beach Bums (26-25) at Lake Erie Crushers (29-22)
Enrique Lechuga (3-3, 4.04) vs Esmelvin Jimenez (5-2, 3.72)

Traverse City
Matt Brown RF
Chris Codiroli CF
Michael Diaz 2b
Chase Burch 1b
JT Hall LF
CJ Ziegler 3b
Andrew Franco C
Chris Engell SS
Brandon Howard DH

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Joel Collins DH
Drew Saylor 2b
Eddie Tisdale 1b
Raphael Turner LF
Arden McWilliams RF
Julio Rivera C

Pregame Notes: The Crushers had a busy night after Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Windy City. Outfielder and designated hitter Travis Vetters was released after the game. Vetter was hitting just .194 for the season with three home runs and 19 RBI. In the month of July, Vetters was just three for 32 with no extra base hits.
The team signed true rookie Casey McGrew, who is the third player this season the Crushers have signed from Wright State. A two-time Horizon League First teamer, McGrew hit a team high .383 this season for the Raiders. He led the Horizon League in hits and had 19 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 48 RBI. Last summer he played for the USA Collegiate National Team where he hit .341.
“He is a pretty good hitter,” Massarelli said. “He has some tools and put up some good numbers at Wright State. We will give him an opportunity and see what he can do. He is more of a gap-to-gap line drive hitter. He will probably hit for average.”
The pitching staff lost one but regained two. All-Star pitcher Travis Risser (5-2, 3.65) was placed on the seven-day disabled list. Risser left his start on Saturday in the fifth inning with a leg injury. Fellow starter Phil Rummel (2-4, 5.68), who was placed on the DL before the All-Star, was activated and will start tomorrow night’s game. Reliever Cristobal Mata was also activated for the DL. It was Mata’s second stint there. He has only pitched three innings for the Crushers this season.
King of promotions

Crushers win with a walkoff HR

2010-07-18T20:00:00.001-04:00

Last night may have been the best ballgame of the season so far. Watch video and read about the Crushers comeback and walkoff win here.

Four Crushers named to All Star team

2010-07-07T19:50:00.001-04:00

You can read about it here

July 7, 2010: Crushers at Freedom

2010-07-07T19:47:00.000-04:00

You can follow the game here

CRUSHERS (23-20)
Dom Duggan - CF
Drew Saylor - 2B
Jodam Rivera - SS
Andrew Davis - 3B
Eddie Tisdale - 1B
Lee Huggins - DH
Travis Vetters - RF
Wayne Bond - LF
Joel Collins - C

RHP Matt Smith (8th Start -- 5-3, 3.40)

FLORENCE FREEDOM (18-25)
Billy Mottram - CF
Tim Grogan - 2B
Jimmy Baker - DH
Michael Campbell - RF
Stephen Shults - SS
Johnny Welch - 3B
Michael Wheeler - LF
Justin Pickett - 1B
Curt Marshall - C

LHP Bryan Banes (8th Start -- 3-3, 4.32)

Pregame notes – Evansville Otters at Crushers, 7.4.10

2010-07-04T18:36:00.003-04:00

Crushers
Duggan CF
Rivera SS
Davis 3B
Tisdale 1B
Huggins DH
Vetters LF
Bond RF
Collins C

Otters
Rose 2B
Harris CF
Alexander LF
Wiley DH
Cohen 1B
Rogers SS
Scarduzio RF
Ross 3B
Killian C

Pregame notes:

– Crushers are seeking to sweep the Otters, after defeating them 6-1 Friday and 7-2 on Saturday.
– Crushers are 4-4 on this nine-game homestand entering play Sunday.
– Lake Erie's best starting pitcher, Josh Roberts, takes the hill. He is 4-0 with a tidy 1.83 ERA. Roberts exited his last start with a no decision after pitching nine innings of of four-hit, zero-run baseball Tuesday, June 29. Designated hitter Lee Huggins smashed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th to secure the win.
– In his last four outings, Roberts has not given up more than three runs.

July 3, 2010: Evansville at Lake Erie

2010-07-03T17:53:00.002-04:00

Evansville Otters (14-26) at Lake Erie Crushers (22-18)
Chad Edwards (0-4, 4.38) vs Travis Risser (4-2, 3.33)

Otters
Zack Stanton SS
Patrick Rose 2b
Brandon Cohen 1b
Derek Wiley DH
Estee Harris CF
Gregory Alexander LF
Vinnie Scarduzio RF
Billy Killian C

Crushers
Dom Duggan CF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Eddie Tisdale 1b
Travis Vetters LF
Drew Saylor 2b
Lee Huggins DH
Davis Phillips RF
Julio Rivera C

Pregame Notes:
- Crusher catcher Joel Collins was activated from the disabled list before the game but was not in the starting lineup.
- Crushers won the opener between the two teams in front of 4,617 fans, the second largest crowd of the season.
- Jodam Rivera seems to be out of his mini slump as he had two hits in each of the last two games.
- Risser makes his ninth start of the season. He has won four straight decisions. Risser has performed well after missing all of last season with a back injury.
- Tomorrow's Fourth of July Morning Journal is the special Ben Franklin edition and will have a story about the Crusher Super Fans in 113.

July 2 2010:

2010-07-03T17:51:00.003-04:00

Crushers 6, Otters 1

Lake Erie snaps two game losing streak in front of the second largest crowd of the season with 6-1 win over Evansville.

July 1 2010: Freedom at Crushers

2010-07-01T18:23:00.003-04:00

EDIT: Freedom 7, Crushers 4

Florence Freedom (15-23) at Lake Erie Crushers (21-17)
Bryan Barnes (2-3, 4.67) vs Matt Smith (5-2, 2.41)

Starting lineups

Florence
Billy Mottram CF
Tim Grogan 2b
Justin Pickett C
Michael Campbell LF
Stephen Shults SS
Johnny Welch 3b
Jimmy Baker DH
Cory Wine 1b
Justin Jacobs RF

Lake Erie
Dom Duggans CF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3b
Travis Vetters LF
Eddie Tisdale 1b
Drew Saylor 2b
Lee Huggins DH
Arden McWilliams RF
Julio Rivera C

Pregame Notes:
- These same two teams have combined to play 23 innings the last two games. The Crushers won 1-0 in 11 innings on Tuesday while the Freedom won 5-4 in 12 innings yesterday.
- The Crushers pitching staff matched a season high with 12 strikeouts last night. It was the third time this season they achieved it. The team has a league low 230 strikeouts this season. The team ERA of 4.00 is the second lowest in the league

June 30 2010: Florence Freedom at Lake Erie Crushers

2010-06-30T17:17:00.005-04:00

UPDATE: Freedom 5, Crushers 4 12 innings

Videos and story: Keep LBJ in C-L-E

Florence Freedom (14-23) at Lake Erie Crushers (21-16)
Andy Clark (3-2, 4.33) vs Phil Rummel (2-3, 5.97)

Florence
10 Billy Mottram CF
4 Tim Grogan 2b
23 Justin Pickett C
8 Mike Campbell LF
17 Stephen Shults SS
24 Johnny Welch 3b
5 Jimmy Baker DH
16 Cory Wine 1b
21 Justin Jacobs RF

Lake Erie
9 Dom Duggan CF
2 Jodan Rivera SS
21 Andrew Davis 3b
22 Eddie Tisdale 1b
30 Travis Vetters LF
4 Drew Saylor 2b
11 Lee Huggins DH
7 Wayne Bond RF
3 Julio Rivera C

Pregame Notes:
- LeBron James was a late scratch from the starting lineup. Dom Duggan was returned to the starting lineup.
- Crushers have not allowed a run in 20.2 innings including shutouts the last two nights. The team is tied for the league high with 5 shutouts this season.
- Tim Holmes pitched 7.2 scoreless innings last night for Florence. He is a Bay Village native.
- Before the game, the Crushers signed David Phillips before the game. The outfielder was starting for the University of Mississippi this spring where he played with Cleveland Indians first round pick Drew Pomeranz. Phillips hit .238 with seven home runs.
“He has some pop in his bat,” Massarelli said. “He is a left handed bat that will provide some bench strength. He has some arm strength. We will see what he brings to the table.”

Pregame notes – Florence Freedom at Crushers, 6.29.10

2010-06-29T18:47:00.002-04:00

Crushers Lineup

CF Dom Duggan
SS Jodam Rivera
3B Andrew Davis
1B Eddie Tisdale
LF Travis Vetters
2B Drew Saylor
DH Lee Huggins
RF Wayne Bond
C Julio Rivera

Pregame notes
– Wayne Bond makes the start in right field after starting Monday night's game in left.
– Lake Erie manager John Massarelli is scheduled to appear on ESPN's First Take Wednesday morning at 11:20. He will discuss about Wednesday's Keep LBJ in the C-L-E promotion.
– Entering play Tuesday, the Crushers are three games out of first place in the East Division and face the Florence Freedom (14-22)
– Tuesday night's starter, Josh Roberts, is 4-0 in seven starts this season, and has not given up more than four runs in each of this starts.

Crushers avoid sweep

2010-06-29T00:19:00.003-04:00

With the 2-0 win on Monday night, the Crushers avoided getting swept by the East Division-leading Oakland County Cruisers. The Crushers are now three games behind the Cruisers, with the Traverse City Beach Bums sandwiched between the two ballclubs.

Starting pitcher Travis Risser earned his fourth win of the season Monday night, after starting the season 0-2. In four of his last five starts, Risser has pitched at least six innings and in those starts, has not given up more than two runs.

Hitting
Shortstop Jodam Rivera (.331) and third baseman Andrew Davis (.333) lead the team in hitting with entering Monday night's game against the Cruisers. Davis ranks third in the league and Rivera ranks fifth.

Recap: Crushers finish Sunday game with 5-2 loss to Cruisers

2010-06-29T00:17:00.000-04:00

AVON — The Cruisers and Crushers weathered two rain delays during the middle game of their three-game set, but the Crushers failed to weather the Cruisers’ seventh-inning storm.

The resumption of Sunday’s rain-shortened game was a quick one on Monday, as nearly 25 hours after the original start time, the Cruisers defeated the Crushers 5-2.

The first rain delay Sunday afternoon pushed the start time back from 5:05 p.m. to 6:07 p.m, but wasn’t the only stoppage of the contest. During the middle of third inning, the screeching fire alarm sounded throughout All Pro Freight Stadium providing another short postponement.

“I managed that game knowing that weather was coming and it was probably going to postpone us,” Manager John Massarelli said. “We didn’t want to lose (Alberto) Rolon, we tried to sneak (Michael) Raymond in to give us an inning, but it backfired on us.”

Deadlocked at two entering the seventh inning, the Cruisers (23-12) brought nine batters to the plate and scored three runs to extend their East Division lead to four games ahead of the Crushers (19-16)

Cruisers hitters connected on four hits, including three doubles, off of Crushers reliever Michael Raymond in the seventh. Raymond recorded only one out in the seven batters he faced and was released after Sunday’s outing.

“He was struggling with the command of his fastball,” Massarelli said. “He has a great arm and a lot of potentinal, this is like the big leagues. We’re tying to win every night.”

Raymond relieved starter Esmelvin Jimenez after he pitched six innings of two-run, eight-hit baseball, continuing his 10-appearance streak of surrendering three runs or less.

Oakland County shortstop Luis Fernandez punched the ball through the right side of the infield for the first hit of the seventh. After a double by catcher Ben Barrone, center fielder Zachary Pace drove in Fernandez and Barrone with a double to left-center field to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

No. 3 hitter, Jeremy Jones, doubled in Pace to finalize the score line.

Raymond plunked second baseman Martin Parra, surrendered the third double of the inning to Jones and walked first baseman Joash Brodin to load the bases before exiting as the pitcher of record – his third loss of the season.

Reliever Alberto Rolon was substituted in for Raymond to face third baseman Kyle Maunus, but home plate umpire Jacob Asher suspended the game shortly thereafter Sunday night.

Rolon faced Maunus to resume play on Monday, struck him out and coaxed designated hitter Lee Rubin to ground out to end the lengthy seventh inning.

Following Saturday’s 3-1, one-hit loss to the Cruisers, the Lake Erie offense continued its meager run production throughout the prolonged, two-day matchup.

Third baseman Andrew Davis extended a single into a double to lead off the eighth, but was left marooned as first baseman Eddie Tisdale, second baseman Drew Saylor and designated hitter Lee Huggins all struck out, thwarting the threat of a rally.

Lake Erie scattered seven hits against Oakland County pitching, but failed to drive in runs as it left seven on base.

“They just have to learn how to control the situation,” Massarelli said. “Being a professional hitter at a higher level, you learn how to not be out of control. You’re getting pitches to hit because of your strike discipline. Hitting you can’t try harder at and do good.”

The Crushers snatched a quick, short-lived lead in the first courtesy of third baseman Andrew Davis’ sacrifice to plate speedy center fielder Dom Duggan, who doubled to leadoff the inning.

Cruisers right fielder Robbie Tolan tripled in designated hitter Lee Rubin from first to equalize in the second inning. The early see-saw affair continued in the fourth inning, when Crushers designated hitter Lee Huggins hit a laser home run to center field, his third of the season, which handed the Crushers a 2-1 lead. That was the last lead the Crushers maintained.

Following Huggins’ home run, Crushers’ hitters only managed three more hits the final five innings, and the side was retired in order three times.

Notes

Lake Erie signed reliever Travis LaMar to replace Raymond’s spot in the bullpen. LaMar was signed after playing college baseball at Wright State University.

“He’s going to be our 10th, 11th guy in the pen,” Massarelli said. “He’ll give us innings when we need him. The slider is probably his best pitch, he’s not an overpowering guy. Looking at his body type and the scounting report, he looks similar to (Jeff) Cinadr.”

Recap and Video: Crushers 2, Cruisers 0

2010-06-29T00:14:00.002-04:00

AVON — On two first-inning runs, the Crushers avoided a three-game sweep by the Oakland County Cruisers with a 2-0, seven-inning win Monday night.

“I’ll take a shutout and a win,” Manager John Massarelli said.

The game was shortened to seven innings to compensate for the resumption of Game 2 of the series, which was suspended on Sunday due to inclement weather. Frontier League rules mandate any game scheduled after the completion of a suspended game must be shortened to seven innings.

Faced with an abbreviated game, the Crushers didn’t waste any time in the first.

No. 3 hitter, third baseman Andrew Davis, singled to right-center field, but Cruisers right fielder Robbie Tolan fumbled the ball enabling shortstop Jodam Rivera and Davis to score the only runs the Crushers needed to earn the win.

Rivera doubled with one out in the first to setup the scoring play.

Crushers pitching needed only two runs to earn the win, their first in the last four games.

Crushers’ starter Travis Risser worked five innings, struck out four and allowed only three hits to combine with closer JJ Pacella on the shutout victory. Risser threw 100 pitches to earn his fourth win of the season. Pacella closed out the Cruisers to pick up a two-inning save – his third of the season.

“He threw 100 pitches in five innings,” Massarelli said. “He had to work his butt off to get through those five shutout innings. He pitched around their best hitter (designated hitter Jeremy Jones) a little bit, and got him to hit his pitches. Travis pitched, he didn’t just throw tonight.”

The shortened game didn’t affect Risser’s typical workman approach to pitching.

“It didn’t affect my stuff,” Risser said. “It made me thinking to go out there and win this game. I wasn’t trying to go out all seven. The first inning I felt good, but I couldn’t locate my fastball today, so I was throwing a lot more sliders and changeups than usual. That’s why I was getting deeper into pitch counts.”

Both Risser and Pacella ran into trouble in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. Risser, a converted starter, allowed a walk to Cruisers third baseman Kyle Maunus and a ground-rule double to left fielder Bobby Andrews in the fourth, but was able to record the final out of the inning to preserve the Crushers’ bid for a shutout win.

“I fist-pumped when that ground-rule double happened,” Risser said. “I was like, ‘get out of play,” because I knew that guy (Maunus) was probably scoring from first.”

In the sixth, Pacella surrendered a leadoff double to Cruisers first baseman Joash Brodin and a single to third baseman Kyle Maunus, but managed to retire the next three batters to end the sixth. Pacella was flawless in the seventh, retiring the side in order.

Lake Erie missed an opportunity extend its lead in the second inning, with Cruisers starter Kevin Asselin allowing the first three hitters of the inning to reach base. With the bases loaded and no outs, catcher Julio Rivera struck out swinging, center fielder Dom Duggan struck out looking and Rivera grounded out to first to end the threat.

That was the most legitimate scoring opportunity the Crushers had Monday as they were retired in order the remaining four innings they batted.

“We didn’t do a very good job with runners in scoring position,” Massarelli said. “That’s going to happen. If you keep the pitching and defense, and then the hitting gets going, that’s when you reel off your streaks. We were able to put a streak together last week because we were hitting, and our pitching and defense stayed pretty consistent. That’s a big key.”

Oakland County at Crushers, 6.27.10 Pregame Notes

2010-06-27T16:17:00.002-04:00

Oakland County (22-12) at Lake Erie Crushers (19-15)
Andres Esquibel (2-2, 4.17) vs. Esmelvin Jimenez (3-2, 3.56)

Oakland County Lineup
1. Zachary Pace CF
2. Martin Parra 2B
3. Jeremy Jones LF
4. Joash Brodin 1B
5. Kyle Maunus 3B
6. Lee Rubin DH
7. Robbie Tolan RF
8. Luis Fernandez SS
9. Ben Barrone C

Lake Erie Crushers
1. Dom Duggan CF
2. Jodam Rivera SS
3. Andrew Davis 3B
4. Eddie Tisdale 1B
5. Drew Saylor 2B
6. Lee Huggins DH
7. Wayne Bond LF
8. Arden McWilliams RF
9. Julio Rivera C

Pregame notes
– The Crushers were nearly no-hit Saturday night against the Cruisers, falling 3-1.
– Crushers hitters drew seven walks in the loss Saturday night for a total of 120 on the season. Third baseman Andrew Davis leads the team in walks with 19.
– Crushers are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and are only three games out of first place behind the Cruisers.
– In his previous start on June 22, Esmelvin Jimenez pitched six innings, surrendered only one run and three hits to earn his third win of the season. He hasn't given up any more than three runs in 29.4 innings of work during his 10 appearances this season. His record as a starter is 1-1, and the Crushers offense has put up an average of four runs per game in his starts.

Oakland County at Lake Erie June 26, 2010

2010-06-26T17:59:00.003-04:00

EDIT: Oakland County 3, Lake Erie 1

Oakland County Crusiers (21-12) at Lake Erie Crushers (19-14)
Wayde Kichens (1-1, 4.71) vs Matt Smith (5-1, 1.91)

Oakland County
Zachary Pace CF .223
Bobby Andrews RF .233
Jeremy Jones DH .331
Joash Brodin 1b .277
Kyle Maunus 3b .182
Luis Fernandez SS .208
Tom Clayton LF .143
Ryan Shay 2b .250
Lee Rubin C .333

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF .215
Jodam Rivera SS .345
Andrew Davis 3b .347
Eddie Tisdale 1b .308
Travis Vetters DH .220
Drew Saylor 2b .218
Wayne Bond LF .215
Arden McWiliams RF .198
Julio Rivera C .146

Pregame Notes:
- Oakland comes into the game in first place just two games ahead of Lake Erie.
- Smith is tied for the league lead in wins with a career high five. He threw seven shutout innings in his last start June 21. He has won five decisions in a row and won his last four starts.
-Joel Collins was placed on 7 day disabled list. Former Crusher catcher Nick Maragas was resigned. He had been the bullpen catcher.
- Andrew Davis has hit in 11 straight to match Jodam Rivera's 11 game streak that ended on Thursday. Rivera has reached base in 26 straight which is league high.
-Drew Saylor has hit in four straight. He had two hits and a RBI last night in Traverse City.

Crushers 6, Traverse City 3

2010-06-24T23:56:00.002-04:00

Crushers win seventh in a row

The Lake Erie Crushers overcame an early 3-0 deficit against the Traverse City Beach Bums to pick up their seventh straight victory 6-3. Down by three runs, the Crushers’ bats were silent for the first five innings as Traverse City’s Ryan Platt held the Crushers without a hit until Joel Collins hustled out a double on a hit to left-center field to lead off the sixth.

Jodam Rivera’s walk and Andrew Davis’ single loaded the bases for Eddie Tisdale, who got the Crushers on the board with a sacrifice fly. Travis Vetters then blooped a double down the right-field line to score Rivera and bring the Crushers within one at 3-2. Lake Erie got right back to work in the seventh against Jack Adams, who replaced Platt to start the frame.

Arden McWilliams picked up a one-out base hit before Julio Rivera, who entered the game in the bottom of the previous inning to replace an injured Collins, wrapped a two-run home run around the right-field foul pole to put the Crushers ahead. The eighth inning saw the Crushers strike for two more runs. Andrew Davis stood at third and Eddie Tisdale was at second when Andrew Saylor dropped a base hit in front of Beach Bum center fielder Jason Codiroli to score Davis.

Wayne Bond’s RBI-groundout finished the scoring for Lake Erie. Roberts picked up his fourth win of the season.

Windy City at Lake Erie, June 22

2010-06-22T17:39:00.003-04:00

Windy City ThunderBolts (15-14) at Lake Erie Crushers (16-13)
Joe Scumaci (0-1, 6.75) vs Esmelivin Jimenez (2-2, 4.44)

Lineups

Windy City
Gilberto Mejia 2b .304
Guillermo Martinez SS .247
JT Restko 1b .290
Ryne White CF .280
Tim Alberts LF LF .261
Mike Sullivan DH .270
Mike Torres 3b .380
Dan Jordan C .203
Donnie Ecker RF .304

Crushers
Dom Duggan CF .223
Jodam Rivera SS .364
Andrew Davis 3b .330
Eddie Tisdale 1b .298
Travis Vetters DH .227
Drew Saylor 2b .193
Wayne Bond LF .205
Arden McWilliams .211
Julio Rivera C .125

Pregame Notes:
- The Crushers shutout an opponent for the second time in three games on Monday. It raised the Crushers home record to 11-6, it was the ninth win in 11 games and secured a fourth straight series win.
- Dom Duggan hit his first homer as a Crusher last night. It was the second grand slam of his career and his 5 RBI were a career high.
- Matt Smith pitched seven shutout innings to raise his record to 5-1 and his ERA to 1.91. Smith is tied for the league lead in wins and his ERA is second only to teammate Josh Roberts
- Esmelvin Jimenez is making his third start of the season after seven relief appearances. He took the loss in his last start. He is 2-2 overall with a 4.44 ERA.

LeBron to move from center to catcher?

2010-06-21T23:34:00.004-04:00

There were smiles everywhere at All Pro Freight Stadium on Monday. And not just because the Crushers won their 9th game out of 11. The front office was abuzz because their contract offer to LeBron James, first reported in the Morning Journal, had been picked up by the National media including leading off the 6:30 p.m. SportsCenter.
Crusher manager John Massarelli played it straight when asked about it. He insisted he wanted LeBron to play center field.
His current center fielder Dom Duggan, who entered the game hitting .215, must have heard him. Duggan hit a two out grand slam in the second inning and drove in another run with a two out single in the third for all 5 RBIs in the Crushers 5-0 win over Windy City.

"I think he heard the rumors before the game," Massarelli said. "Came out and saw the early video tape heard he was going to play center, may have motivated him. We are thinking of moving LeBron behind the plate."

When told that there was some fear that people might misunderstand his comments in print as being serious. Massarelli said he was being serious and added he wanted to be interviewed by Jim Rome.

Crushers interest in LeBron goes National

2010-06-21T20:12:00.004-04:00

You can read about it here

Crusher manager John Massarelli on LeBron

Lake Erie manager Ryan Gates on how the idea came about.

Crusher 2b Drew Saylor on possibilty of LeBron as a teammate

Windy City at Lake Erie, June 21

2010-06-21T17:44:00.003-04:00

EDIT: Crushers 5, ThunderBolts 0 complete game story and videos

Windy City ThunderBolts (15-13) at Lake Erie Crushers (15-13)
Ricky Meinhold (0-1, 4.19) vs Matt Smith (4-1, 2.42)

Starting Lineups

Windy City
Gilberto Mejia 2b .312
Guillermo Martinez 22 ..247
JT Restko 1b .298
Ryne White LF .281
Tim Alberts DH .264
Donnie Ecker RF .321
Mike Torres 3b .375
Dan Jordan C .209
Kent Gerst CF .260

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF .215
Jodam Rivera SS .365
Andrew Davis 3B .321
Travis Vetters LF .321
Eddie Tisdale 1b .297
Drew Saylor 2b .200
Lee Huggins DH .258
Joel Collins C .206
Arden McWilliams RF .207

Pregame Notes:
- Today's game is for sole possession of second place in the Eastern Division behind Oakland County (17-11).
- Crushers won their third straight game and fifth in row at home last night 6-2 over Windy City. A win tonight or tomorrow would be the Crushers four series win in a row.
-Matt Smith gets tonight's start. He is 4-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He is tied for second in the Frontier League in wins and is seventh in ERA.
-Ryan Quigley was scheduled to start for Windy City but was a late scratch and replaced by Ricky Meinhold.
- Andrew Davis matched a Lake Erie record by going 4 for 4 last night to raise his average to .321. Davis had four hits twice in a game last year.
- Phil Rummel was the winning pitcher last night. Rummel is enjoying the friendly confines of All Pro Freight. He has allowed only one earned run in three starts at home in 18 innings of work. He is now 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA and a team high 25 strikeouts.

You can follow the game with video and sound and the call of the game by the Crushers Tim Calderwood here.

Crushers 6, ThunderBolts 2

2010-06-21T17:39:00.001-04:00

For complete game coverage and video interviews of the Crushers 6-2 win over Windy City click here.

Windy City Thunderbolts at Crushers, June 20

2010-06-20T16:20:00.003-04:00

Crushers starting lineup
1. CF Dom Duggan .206
2. SS Jodam Rivera .370
3. 3B Andrew Davis .294
4. LF Travis Vetters .243
5. 1B Eddie Tisdale .292
6. 2B Drew Saylor .196
7. RF Arden McWilliams .212
8. DH Lee Huggins .258
9. C Joel Collins .203

P Phil Rummel (1-2, 6.75)

Pregame notes:
- Crushers enter today's game coming off another series win against Traverse City, their third straight, with a 3-0 win Saturday night.
- Crushers second baseman Jodam Rivera putting his seven-game hitting streak on the line today against Windy City. His .370 batting average is tops on the team, and is good for third in the Frontier League.
- The Crushers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and return home, where they are three games over .500 at 9-6.
- The Crushers are 14-13 and sit in fourth place in the East Division, 2.5 games behind division leader Oakland County.
- Starter Phil Rummel earned his first victory of the season on June 15 against Washington, when he pitched six innings, striking out six and allowing only one unearned run.

Crushers 8, Wild Things 2

2010-06-16T18:05:00.004-04:00

UPDATE: Crushers 8, Wild Things 2

June 16
Washington Wild Things (8-14) at Lake Erie Crushers (11-12)
Zach Rosenbaum (0-1, 0.96) vs Matt Smtih (3-1, 2.70)

Pregame Notes:
* Crushers have won three in a row and will attempt to pull even on the season in the final game of the series against the Wild Things.
* Alberto Rolon picked up the save last night. It was his sixth which is second in the league
* Andrew Davis was 3 for 4 last night. He hit three singles, drove in the run that tied the game and scored on a delayed steal avoiding the tag on what looked to be a sure out.
* Matt Smith has won three consecutive decisions and has allowed just one earned run in his last two starts. He heads into the game tied for 10th in ERA.

Starting Lineups
Washington
Chris Sidick CF .322
Michael Parker 2b .284
Mark McGonigle LF .314
Adam Amar 1b .301
Jacob Dempsey DH .244
Luis Rivera RF .226
Alan Robbins C .310
Billy O'Conner 3b .333
Kyle Surprenant SS .211

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF .212
Jodam Rivera SS .347
Andrew Davis 3b .271
Travis Vetters DH .267
Eddie Tisdale 1B .250
Drew Saylor 2b .214
Wayne Bond LF .200
Arden McWilliams RF .200
Julio Rivera C .160

Saylor shows why he is a fan favorite

2010-06-15T22:27:00.004-04:00

Lake Erie second baseman Drew Saylor has not had the season at the plate he wants. He entered the game hitting just .213. His RBI single in the 8th inning ended on 0 for 20 streak.
Most player would understandably head straight for the locker room. Not Saylor. While most of the Crushers take time to greet the fans and sign autographs. Few come close to Saylor's dedication to the fan base especially the youngsters.
It takes Saylor a long time to make it to the locker room. Every time it looks like he has signed the last glove, shirt, seat cushion and even a shoe, another youngster files up and that attracts more kids.
Saylor always smiling not only signs, he interacts and talks to everyone.
"It is something I love to do," Saylor said. "Hopefully they aren't looking at the stats. They come here for that type of interaction. I remembere when I was their age I wanted anyone's autograpgh. Anyone who took the time to see who I am - that's what I try to do. I try to remember that."
Saylor says the interaction with the kids takes some of the sting of frustration away.
"Absolutely it does," he said. "It gets you to realize it is just a game and if you try to take it too personal or try to hard. They are out here trying to have fun. It gives you a chance to step back and reavalulate everything.

Crushers 4, Wild Things 2

2010-06-15T17:21:00.002-04:00

UPDATE: Crushers 4, Wild Things 2

Washington Wild Things (8-14) at Lake Erie Crushers (10-12)
Jeff Sonnenberg (0-2, 6.00) vs Phil Rummel (0-2, 9.18)

Washington
Chris Sidick 2b .325
Billy O'Conner C .381
Michael Parker 2b .286
Adam Amar 1b .304
Mark McGonigle LF .313
Jacob Dempsey DH .240
Luis Rivera RF .237
Denny Duron SS .212
Kyle Surprenant 3B .235

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF .210
Jodam Rivera SS .347
Andrew Davis 3b .247
Travis Vetters DH .277
Eddie Tisdale 1b .246
Drew Saylor 2b .213
Joel Collins C .231
Wayne Bond LF .197
Arden McWilliams .186

June 14 starting lineups

2010-06-14T17:53:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: Crushers win 6-2

Washington Wild Things (8-13) at Lake Erie Crushers (9-12)
Zach Groh (1-2, 5.12) vs Josh Roberts (1-0, 2.62)

Washington
Chris Sidick CF .342
Michael Parker 2b .276
Jacob Dempsey DH .225
Adam Amar 1b .307
Mark McGonigle LF .329
Luis Rivera RF .237
Alan Robbins C .316
Denny Duron SS .224
Chris Rainere 3B .246

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF .208
Jodam Rivera SS .343
Andrew Davis 3b .260
Andrew Saylor 2b .227
Travis Vetters LF .259
Eddie Tisdale 1b .231
Lee Huggins DH .291
Wayne Bond RF .193
Joel Collins C .224

Crusher Starting Lineups June 12

2010-06-12T17:39:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: Grizzlies 6, Crushers 3

Gateway Grizzlies (12-8) at Lake Erie Crushers (8-11)
Richard Barrett (1-1, 2.38) vs Esmelivin Jimenez (2-1, 5.06)

Gateway
Bobby Burk 2B
Brandon Peters LF
Logan Parker 1B
Charlie Lisk C
Jareck West CF
Justin Baum 3B
Adam Eggemeyer RF
Breck Draper DH
Tyler Heil SS

Lake Erie
Dom Duggan CF
Jodam Rivera SS
Andrew Davis 3B
Drew Saylor 2B
Eddie Tisdale 1B
Travis Vetters LF
Lee Huggins DH
Wayne Bond RF
Joel Collins C

Esmelvin Jimenez is making his first ever start in the United States. Jimenez made two starts for the Phillies in the Dominician Summer League. This season he has made seven relief appearances for the Crushers.

June 3 Lineups

2010-06-03T17:56:00.005-04:00

UPDATE: Crushers 10, Rascals 1

River City Rascals (6-7) at Lake Erie Crushers (4-7)

Tim Woodward (1-0, 2.35) vs. Josh Roberts (0-0, 2.46)

River City

Caleb Curry CF
Doug Sanders 2B
Scott Robinson 1B
Stephen Holden DH
Chad Maddox LF
Ryan Wehrle 3B
Jeff DeSmidt C
Chris McClendon RF
Jorge Gutierrez SS

Lake Erie

Dom Duggan CF
Drew Saylor 2B
Andrew Davis 3B
Travis Vetters LF
Eddie Tisdale 1B
Joel Collins C
Arden McWilliams RF
Lee Huggins DH
Jodam Rivera SS

VIDEO: Game 10 starting Lineups

2010-06-01T17:41:00.007-04:00

UPDATE: Crushers 5, Rascals 4

River City Rascals (5-6) at Lake Erie Crushers (3-6)

Starting pitchers

RC: Tony Marsala (1-1, 3.68) vs. LE: Michael Raymond (0-1, 3.00)

Starting Lineups
River City
SS Jorge Guiterrez
2b Doug Sanders
1b Scott Robinson
DH Stephen Holdren
LF Chad Maddox
3b Ryan Wehrle
C Danny Sawyer
RF Chris McClendon
CF Joe Chavarria

Lake Erie
CF Dom Duggan
2b Drew Saylor
3b Andrew Davis
1B Eddie Tisdale
DH Travis Vetters
C Joel Collins
RF Arden McWilliam
LF Wayne Bond
SS Jodam Rivera

Notes - Crushers 3, Cruisers 2

2010-05-25T23:41:00.002-04:00

The Crushers entered Tuesday night’s game against Oakland County after dropping two of three games to the Traverse City Beach Bums, and No. 3 hitter, third baseman Andrew Davis, batted .100 during the three-game set.

In 10 at bats this season, Davis has one hit and one RBI with three walks. Last season, Davis was the Crushers’ most productive hitter with a .327 batting average and led the club in four offensive statistical categories – runs (74), hits (120), triples (7) and walks (52). His batting average was good for sixth in the league, and if the Crushers wish to rebound from dropping the opening series of the season, Davis is going to need to find his 2009 form. In his second at bat against Oakland County, Davis drove in center fielder Dom Duggan for the game’s second run.

Streaks snapped

Catcher Joel Collins, second baseman Drew Saylor and Eddie Tisdale snapped their three-game hitting streaks during Wednesday’s 3-2 win against Oakland County. Both Tisdale and Saylor are slugging .667 this season. The two have combined for eight hits, five runs, two home runs and 16 total bases.

Hitting and pitching

As a team, the Crushers are batting .260 this season, good for eighth in the 13-team Frontier League.

Crushers’ pitchers, however, are struggling. Entering play Tuesday, their 5.90 ERA is the third-worst in the league and have only struck out 12 – the lowest total of any pitching staff.

Perhaps starter Phil Rummel’s eight-strikeout performance will improve the team’s ranking moving forward.

The two bright spots are relief pitcher Alberto Rolon and Jesse Orosco. In two appearances this season, Rolon has pitched 3.1 innings with a squeaky-clean 0.00 ERA, two strikeouts and two walks. That changed Wednesday when he allowed the game-tying two-run home run to Cruisers left fielder Jim Jones in the top of the ninth

In Orosco’s only appearance on the season, he surrendered one hit struck out one in two innings of work.

Nearly error free

In four games this season, the Crushers’ defense has only committed one error. Following Sunday’s 8-4 loss to Traverse City, first baseman Eddie Tisdale said he wants to be the best defensive first baseman in the league

And following Dom Duggan’s nasty, over-the-shoulder catch in center on Tuesday, he wants understands the importance of pitching and defense, particularly early in the season.

Game 2: Beach Bums 6, Crushers 2

2010-05-23T04:48:00.002-04:00

Travis Risser makes first pro start for Crushers. He allows just one hit and no runs in his first four innings but hits a batter and gives up three straight hits in the top of the fifth in the Crushers 6-2 loss to the Beach Bums.

VIDEO: Game 2 starting lineups

2010-05-22T19:14:00.006-04:00

STARTING LINEUPS
May 22, 2010
7:05 p.m.
All-Pro Freight Stadium

Traverse City Beach Bums (0-1)
Manager – #20 Gregg Langbehn

8 Jason Codiroli CF
4 Michael Diaz 2B
12 Bobby Spain 3B
32 Chase Burch DH
19 J.T. Hall LF
48 C.J. Ziegler 1B
17 Matt Brown RF
7 Andrew Franco C
18 Kyle Eveland SS
Startng Pitcher
37 Michael Moore RHP

Lake Erie Crushers (1-0)
Manager – #26 John Massarelli

9 Dom Duggan CF
2 Jodem Rivera SS
21 Andrew Davis 3B
22 Eddie Tisdale 1B
4 Drew Saylor 2B
30 Travis Vetters DH
10 Arden Saylor 2B
7 Wayne Bond LF
3 Julio Rivera C
Starting Pitcher
35 Travis Risser RHP

UMPIRES
Home Plate: Jim Muhleck
Bases: Douglas Nauer

Tonight's starting pitcher Travis Risser

Crushers get rings

2010-05-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

Game 1 Crusher notebook

Game 1: Crushers 8, Beach Bums 5

2010-05-22T00:25:00.004-04:00

The Crushers open the defense of their Frontier League title with a 8-5 win over the Beach Bums. Arden McWilliams, Eddie Tisdale and Wayne Bond all hit solo homers in the win. Esmelivin Jimenez picked up the victory in relief of Cardoza Tucker, who left the game with two outs in the third with an injury. No word yet on the extent but it is believed to be a sprain.

Crushers 8, Beach Bums 5
Traverse City (0-1) 010 003 10 5 9 1
Lake Erie (1-0) 011 240 00x 8 11 1
Hits- Traverse City: Codiroli, Diaz (2), Hall (2), Ziegler(2), Brown, Johnson
Lake Erie: Rivera, Saylor (2), Davis, Tisdale, McWilliams, Bond (2), Collins (2), Duggan; 2b- TC: Hall; HR- TC: Ziegler; LE: McWilliams, Tisdale, Bond; WP: Esmelvin Jimenez (1-0); LP: Kevin Reese (0-1); S: Alberto Rolon (1)

Crusher Editorial

2010-05-22T00:23:00.000-04:00

You might be interested in this editorial

Opening Day approaches

2010-05-22T00:22:00.000-04:00

Crusher Preview story: Opening Day

Crusher preview: Hitting

2010-05-22T00:21:00.001-04:00

Crusher Preview story: Hitting

Crusher preview stoy: Pitching and Defense

2010-05-22T00:20:00.001-04:00

Crusher preview story: Pitching and defense

Seven run fifth gives Crushers a 8-3 lead

2009-09-23T22:12:00.003-04:00

Tyler Johnson's double scored 3 runs and Todd Balduf added a pair of RBI's as the Cruhsers scored seven runs in the fifth to take a 8-3 lead. Lake Erie send 11 men to the plate in the inning.

Tucker struggles early on

2009-09-23T21:08:00.002-04:00

Through three innings, Crushers starter Cardoza Tucker has allowed three run on five hits as River City jumped out to an early 3-1. Two of the Rascals hits have left the ball park. Chad Maddox and Ernie Banks both have solo home runs as River City takes advantage of the friendly confines of TH Hughes Ballpark. Arden McWilliams drove in the Crushers only run with a second-inning RBI single

Checking out TH Hughes Ballpark

2009-09-23T20:17:00.002-04:00

TH Hughes Ballpark is one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the Frontier League. It is 320 feet down the left field line but just 382 to straight away center field. The 28-foot high wall in right field is just 299 feet away. The power alley's are 354to left and 325 to right. The stadium, which was built in 1999, has an old school feel to it. The right field wall is reminiscent of Cleveland's old League Park that had a 290-foot 45-foot high right field fence

Live from Game 5 in in the Frontier League Finals

2009-09-23T20:01:00.003-04:00

Crushers fans are out in full force here in River City tonight. Not only did a bus full of Lake Erie supporters arrive at TR Hughers Ballpark about an hour before tonight's first pitch. A numbers of fans also drove or flew from Northeast Ohio to support the Crushers in their bid for their first Frontier League title

KINGS RALLY TO FORCE 5TH GAME IN DIVISIONAL SERIES

2009-09-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

All seemed well for the Lake Erie Crushers on Sunday in game four of their divisional series with Kalamazoo. They started the day needing a win to advance to the Frontier League Championship series and had a 5-0 lead after one inning. But the Kings refused to say die and rallied with seven unanswered runs to beat the Crushers by the final of 7-5 to force a deciding game five on Monday night at Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo.

After Kalamazoo starter John Brownell allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits in the first, he clamped down the Crushers offense for the remainder of the afternoon. Brownell went the distance for a complete game victory, allowing six hits while striking out six and walking three. “An amazing performance by Brownell,” said Crusher skipper John Massarelli afterwards. “As impressive as I’ve ever seen.”

The Crushers went after Brownell quickly in the first as Andrew Davis doubled home Jodam Rivera for a 1-0 lead. Tyler Johnson added a two-run single and the Crushers picked up two more thanks to an error on Kings second baseman Joe Ramos. Down 5-0, the Kings started their comeback in the third inning on an RBI single by Brandon Anderson off of Cardoza Tucker. Anderson struck again in the fifth inning as he lined a Tucker pitch over the wall in right-center field for his first home run of the postseason. Tucker worked five plus innings for the Crushers, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks to earn a no-decision.

The Kings would tie the game in the sixth inning as Amos Ramon hit an RBI single followed by a Brendan Murphy run-scoring grounder. With two outs in the inning, Kyle Higgins hit a fly ball to center that was dropped by Tyler Johnson, allowing Ramon to score the game-tying run. Kalamazoo would take their first lead of the game in the eighth inning as Matt Maloney led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second by Ramon, and then scored on Jett Ruiz’s RBI double. In the ninth, the Kings would pick up an insurance run on a sacrifice fly by Maloney that scored Ramos.

The Crushers and Kings will play one game to decide the Divisional Series on Monday evening at 7:05 in Kalamazoo. “They (Kalamazoo) know how to win, and so do my guys,” said Massarelli. “That’s why it’s a heckuva series and should be a tremendous game five.”

Crushers blow five run lead, trail 6-5 going into ninth

2009-09-12T15:45:00.002-04:00

Jett Ruiz doubled down the left field line to score Matt Maloney to give the Kings a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning.

J.J. Pacella entering his second inning of work on the mound for Lake Erie, John Brownell all the way for Kalamazoo

Kings come back to tie the game 5-5, after six innings

2009-09-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

Kalamazoo scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 5-5. The Kings benefited from a pair of Lake Erie errors. Amos Ramon and Brenden Murphy each had RBI in the inning for Kalamazoo.

Brownell has gone all the way for the Kings, while Ronnie Morales is the third Lake Erie pitcher of the day.

Crushers 5, Kings 2, after 5 innings

2009-09-12T14:39:00.002-04:00

After a five-run first inning, the Crushers bats have gone cold. Lake Erie has just one hit in the last fiur innings and Kalamazo's John Brownell has retired 11 of the last 12 batters he has faced.

The Kings got a solo home run from Brandon Anderson in the top of the fifth to make the score 5-2.

Crushers have huge first inning, take 5-0 lead

2009-09-12T13:32:00.002-04:00

Lake Erie had its six hitters reach base as it scored five runs in the first inning. Tyler Johnson has a 2-RBI single and Andrew Davis drove ina run with a double. The Crushers were also helped by a pair of Kalamazoo errors

Game 4 underway at All Pro Freight

2009-09-12T13:11:00.002-04:00

It's Game 4 of the Frontier League Eastern Division Playoffs today in Avon. Cardoza Tucker is on the mound for Lake Erie. John Brownell is on the mound for Kalamazoo. Stay tuned to the Crushers blog and the Morning Journal Sports' twitter feed for in game updates from All Pro Freight Stadium

Crushers win, take 2-1 series lead

2009-09-11T23:02:00.001-04:00

It took 3:23 to do it, but the Lake Erie Crushers took a 2-1 lead in the Frontier League playoffs Friday night, defeating Kalamazoo 4-2, in front of the 2,569 fans at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Now the Crushers have a chance to end the series at home on Saturday afternoon, when they face the Kings in Game 4 of the series.

“The goal is to win three games before the other team does,” Lake Erie manager John Massarelli said after the game. “We want to do it tomorrow, we don’t want to have to go back to Kalamazoo.”

J.J Pacella came on to strike out the side in the ninth in to seal the win for the Crushers.

Eddie Tisdale and Gordon Gronkowski each had two hits for Lake Erie.

Crushers 3, Kings 2 after six innings

2009-09-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

Lake Erie is holding on to a 3-2 lead after six innings at All Pro Freight Stadium.

The Crushers had a chance to break the game open in the sixth inning but Kalamazoo first basemen Tim Brown reached into the stands to catch a Wayne Bond pop foul down the first base line to end the inning with the bases loaded.

Brent Lysander went 4 3/3 innings for Lake Erie before giving way to Alberto Rolon.

Tommy Mejia is now pitching for the Kings.

Crushers 1, King 1 middle of four

2009-09-11T20:22:00.002-04:00

Early on its been a defensive struggle at All Pro Freight Stadium with Lake Erie and Kalamazoo tied 1-1.

The Kings scored a first inning run without a base hit, taking advantage of two walks, a hit batsman and a sacrifice fly.

Lake Erie answered back in the third inning when Wayne Bond scored on a Jodam Rivera sacrifice fly.

Through three and a half innings, the teams have combined for just three hits.

Game 4 tickets on sale NOW

2009-09-11T17:49:00.004-04:00

The Crushers sold over 2,200 pre-sale tickets for tonight's Game 3 and expect to sell at least as many for Saturday's Game 4.

The Crushers have announced a number of special tickets deal to help fill All Pro Freight Stadium for Saturday's game. All General Admission (lawn) tickets are just $1.

Buckeye fans can also wear their Ohio State gear in anticipation of the big showdown at the Horseshoe and get $3 off any box seat or reserved ticket.

Saturday's Game 4 also has a special start time of 1:05 p.m. to get the Crushers fans home in time for the big game.

Post-Season Power Surge

2009-09-11T17:49:00.000-04:00

The name of the game in the Frontier League playoffs has been hitting.

In the two games at Homer Stryker Field, Lake Erie and Kalamazoo combined to hit 13 home runs.

Crushers outfielder Wayne Bond hit a pair of home runs in Game 1. Kalamazoo second baseman Joe Ramos hit two home in Wednesday’s Game 2. A pair of Kings, outfielders Matt Maloney and Josh Short, hit homers in both Games 1 and 2.

The Kings enter Game 3 with a .329 post-season batting average. The Crushers hit .319 in the first two games of the series.