Lake Erie Crushers News & Game Recaps

AVON, Ohio – The Lake Erie Crushers fell into a deep hole early against the Gateway Grizzlies Wednesday night. After surrendering six runs in the first inning, the Crushers could never gain traction to mount any form of comeback.

Ryan Feierabend (0-2) struggled mightily early on against Gateway. In his one and one-third innings of work, Feierabend allowed seven runs on nine hits. He was credited with the loss in his short outing.

The Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders in regards to their offense. Chase Vallot’s two-run double started the scoring spree in the first inning. Vallot would reach home safely on a two-run blast from Jose Rosario, giving Gateway the 4-0 lead. Justin Jones added an extra-base hit, giving Eric Jones the opportunity to cross home plate. Dustin Woodcock was responsible for the Grizzlies’ third RBI double of the inning, extending the lead to 6-0.

Bryan De La Rosa scored unearned for the Crushers in the top of the second inning.

A bases-loaded single by Eric Jones brought the lead back to six runs for the home Grizzlies.

Brody Wofford delivered a double, which sent Trevor Achenbach home from second base to cut the lead to 7-2 in the top of the fourth.

Gateway starter Jorge Tavarez (2-0) went six innings strong, allowing two runs on seven hits. Those numbers were accompanied by ten strikeouts. The run support provided by Gateway’s offense was plenty enough for Tavarez to be comfortable on the mound.

Facing Crushers’ reliever Paul Perez in the bottom of the seventh inning, Abdiel Diaz grounded out to shortstop, but Justin Jones trotted home to extend the lead to 8-2.

The Grizzlies would shut the Crushers down offensively after the fourth inning. As a team, Lake Erie had two runs on eight hits, with an error included. Gateway tallied eight runs, fourteen hits, and a single error.

With the defeat, the Crushers now own a record of 4-8 during the 2021 campaign. Gateway improves to 5-7.

The series is split after two games, leading to a rubber match Thursday night. The first pitch is scheduled to occur at 7:45 pm EST.