Lake Erie Crushers News & Game Recaps

June 04, 2023

Washington, PA – The Lake Erie Crushers defeated the Washington Wild Things in their series finale to avoid back-to-back sweeps and get one step closer to a .500 record. The Crushers (9-12) fell behind early to the Wild Things (10-11) but were able to mount a comeback and earn the win.

Washington jumped on Lake Erie early and set the tone by scoring four in the bottom half of the first inning. All the damage came with two outs, and a pair of home runs given up by Crushers’ starter Kyle Seebach made the situation bleak.

However, Lake Erie fought their way back and got on the board in the top of the third frame after a Santiago Chirino fielder’s choice, scoring Sean Cheely.

The Crushers took their first lead of the night in the fifth, putting together four runs on five hits. Cheely and Kenen Irizarry led off the inning with a pair of doubles that scored Cheely. The next two batters flew out, and then the Grapes put together a rally.

Gabe Snyder scored Irizarry off an RBI knock. Jack Harris then doubled into the left-center field gap, scoring Snyder. Finally, Jiandido Tromp followed suit and hit a ground-rule double to score Harris, giving the Crushers a 5-4 lead.

That would be all Lake Erie needed, but the offense gave the bullpen extra room for error after tallying one more in the seventh frame. Todd Isaccs Jr. led off with a double to left field and moved to third base on a fielder’s choice from Snyder. He then scored on a wild pitch making it a 6-4 game.

The bullpen came in and was dominant. After Seebach lasted just 4.0 innings on four runs, five hits, three walks and as many punchouts, five more arms came in and got the job done. They all pitched scoreless frames.

Brayden Bonner picked up the win after entering play in the fifth inning. Trevor Kuncl came in for the sixth and struck out two. Darrien Ragins struck out one in the seventh, and Perry Bewley came in for 0.2 innings of scoreless baseball in the eighth.

Alexis Rivero was called up to close the eighth, and he continued his success into the ninth by slamming the door on the Wild Things to pick up his first save of the season.

Three Crushers had multi-hit games, including Isaacs Jr. who went 2-for-5 with a run and Cheely putting together two hits and a pair of runs scored. Irizarry was the offensive player of the game, as he went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Chirino, Harris, Snyder and Tromp also tallied RBIs on the night.

The Crushers have the day off tomorrow before heading back to the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Sussex County Miners. The Crushers will have another tough series ahead of them as the Miners lead the East Division of the Frontier League.

Still, The Grapes will look to bounce back and earn their first series win since taking Game 2 against the Florence Y’alls on May 20. The first pitch of the Tuesday nightcap will begin at 7:05 PM ET.