Lake Erie Crushers News & Game Recaps

Joliet, IL – The Lake Erie Crushers (12-8) defeated the Joliet Slammers (8-12) in game one of their Sunday doubleheader by a score of 5-2.

LHP Jack Eisenbarger started on the bump for Lake Erie, coming into the game with 29 strikeouts (4th most in the Frontier League). Joliet struck first in the opening inning with an RBI single by DH Tommy Stevenson, giving the Slammers a 1-0 lead.

Stevenson would do a job with two outs again in the 3rd, lining an RBI single to extend Joliet’s lead to 2-0.

In the top of the 4th, the Crushers would tie the game 2-2 with a DH Vincent Byrd Jr. double off the wall, followed up by a fielding error by Joliet 2B Victor Nova, allowing Byrd to score from second base.

In the 5th inning, 3B Logan Thomason cracked a two-out double for his seventh extra-base hit of the season. CF Burle Dixon would ground a ball to second base where Victor Nova slid to stop it and keep it in the infield. With the infield asleep, Logan Thomason took off for home, sliding in headfirst ahead of the tag to score the go-ahead run for Lake Erie.

1B Scout Knotts would double in Dixon, then Vincent Byrd. Jr. logged another RBI (his team leading 18th) with a single to score Knotts. The Crushers found some two-out lightning, good for a 5-2 lead after the 5th.

Jack Eisenbarger finished his outing giving up 2 R in 5 IP – 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K.

Frontier League doubleheaders are only seven inning contests, so Jared Lemieux brought in Trevor Kuncl out for the bottom of the 7th to get the save. Kuncl would give up a leadoff double, but would retire the next three batters to give the Crushers a 5-2 victory over Joliet.

Jack Eisenbarger (2-2) got the win. Joliet’s Dwayne Marshall went the distance, pitching all seven innings for the Slammers, but being tagged for the loss.

The second game of the doubleheader begins 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.