Crushers win the game by a final score of 7-3 against Southern Illinois
AVON, Ohio — The Lake Erie Crushers, presented by Mercy Health, beat the Southern Illinois Miners 7-3 to claim their first Frontier League Eastern Division crown since 2013. The title is a first for manager Cam Roth and owners Tom and Jackie Kramig. It also marks the first time since 2014 that the Crushers will play in the postseason.
The Crushers (51-40) are now 8-2 in their last 10 games with the win. While the Miners (50-41) drop their sixth game out of their last 10 with the loss.
Sean Johnson (4-2) started for the Crushers and picked up the win for his efforts. In his fourth start of the year for Lake Erie, Johnson gave up only two runs on five hits, walked one and struck out three over his 5.0 innings of work. Marty Anderson (5-5) got the loss as he gave up four runs on eight hits over 4.0 innings.
The Crushers offense came out swinging in this one as Lake Erie started the scoring in the first inning. Aaron Hill led off the inning with a single and then Emmanuel Marrero followed up with a double. With both runners in scoring position, Logan Farrar hit an RBI ground out to score Hill and make it a 1-0 lead.
Lake Erie added to their lead in the next inning. Jake Vieth was hit by a pitch to start the inning and then advanced to second on a single from Dre Hubbard. Bryan De La Rosa stepped up and hit an RBI single into right to score the first run of the inning. Zach Racusin followed De La Rosa’s lead and hit an RBI single to score Hubbard. The final run of the inning came with heads up base running by De La Rosa as he scored on an error made by the catcher.
Southern Illinois scored their first run in the home half of the second. Taylor Sparks sent a solo homer over the right field fence to make it a 4-1 game.
In the fifth, Jake Vieth launched his 17th homer of the year to score the Crushers fifth run of the game. With the homer, Vieth is now the Frontier League leader in home runs.
The Miners answered back with a run in the next half inning. Kirvin Moesquit hit a one out single off Johnson and advanced into scoring position on a balk. Yeltsin Gudino then hit an RBI single making it a 5-2 game.
Lake Erie’s final two runs of the game came in the top of the seventh inning. Dale Burdick and Jake Vieth both were quick outs to start the inning. But Steven Kraft got the offense going with a single. Hubbard drew a two out walk to move Kraft over and De La Rosa continued to be a Miners killer. De La Rosa hit an RBI double to score Kraft for Lake Erie’s sixth run. Southern Illinois made a pitching change to face Racusin but it didn’t work. Racusin hit an RBI single making it a five run Lake Erie lead 7-2.
The Miners picked up a run in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to build on.
Dalton Geekie shut the door on the Miners in the ninth and the Crushers popped the champagne. A historic and memorable win for Lake Erie but the job is not done just yet.
The Crushers will continue their three-game series with the Southern Illinois Miners on Wednesday at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. Jared Koenig (7-1, 2.13) will be on the mound for Lake Erie. While the Miners will go with Andrew Bernstein (2-2, 4.06). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM CST.
The Lake Erie Crushers, the 2009 Frontier League Champions, and 2011 Frontier League Organization of the year, play ball at Sprenger Health Care Stadium, a 5,000 capacity stadium located in Avon, Ohio. The Frontier League is an independent baseball league with 10 teams operating throughout the Midwest. For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.
©2023 copyright lakeeriecrushers
