Big time Blank Job
Crushers Slam Joliet in 7-0 victory
AVON, Ohio — The Lake Erie Crushers, presented by Mercy Health, held the Joliet Slammers to just three hits for the second night in a row, as Jared Koenig and Kent Hasler combined to toss a shutout, and the Crushers came away with a 7-0 victory over the Slammers at Sprenger Healthcare Stadium.
The shutout victory the Crushers (40-35) was their third in their last 11 games, and their seventh of the season, while the loss for the Slammers (31-46) was their fourth in their last five games.
Jared Koenig (7-1) was sensational once again for the Crushers, tossing six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits while fanning seven to score the victory. In his last three starts, the big lefty has tossed 19 scoreless innings, allowed just 10 hits and piled up 20 strikeouts during that stretch. Kent Hasler (5) worked the final three innings, and struck out six to score the save.
A two out error allowed the Crushers to take an early lead in the bottom of the third. The Crushers had the bases loaded with two outs when Steven Kraft hit a routine ground ball to third baseman Harrison Bragg. Bragg couldn’t handle the ground ball, and it ended up in left field, allowing Bryan DeLaRosa and Aaron Hill to score.
Lake Erie added three more in the bottom of the fifth. DeLaRosa and Brody Wofford were hit by a pitch with one out to put runners on first and second. Hill then smashed a single to center to score DeLaRosa, and Emmanuel Marrero followed with a two run double into the right field corner to score Wofford and Hill, giving the Crushers a 5-0 lead.
The Crushers used the long ball to plate the final two runs of the contest. With newly acquired Logan Farrar on first and one out in the bottom of the eighth, Dale Burdick belted a two run homer to left, his second of the series and his 10th of the season, making him the fourth Crusher this season to register double digit homers.
Joliet’s Tyler Jones (1-2) took the loss after allowing five runs, three earned on five hits in five innings of work.
For the second straight night, Marrero paced the Crushers offensively with another three hit performance. Marrero went 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a double, giving him six hits in the series and has reached in 9 out of his last 10 games.
The Crushers will finish their three game series with the Slammers at Sprenger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Lefty Paul Hall Jr. (1-1, 2.02) will start for the Crushers and the Slammers will counter with right-hander Matt Quintana (5-3, 3.06). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
©2023 copyright lakeeriecrushers
