Avon, Ohio – …where history was made on Saturday night. The Lake Erie Crushers (17-9) starter, Jack Eisenbarger, did something very special against the Trois-Rivieres Aigles (12-13) tossing a complete game no-hitter against one of the top offenses in the Frontier League.
With two outs in the 1st, C Alfredo Gonzalez sent 1B Scout Knotts racing home with an opposite-field single into right field, putting the Crushers up 1-0 early. This early lead allowed Eisenbarger to settle in and pitch freely, which he did…for eight more innings.
The new kid on the block, DH Alex Epp (signed on Friday), introduced himself to the Crushers in the 3rd inning. Epp recorded his first professional hit with a double down the left field line. He would score on the second Scout Knotts double of the game, making it 3-0 Lake Erie.
Then, it was Alfredo Gonzalez who unleashed a powerful shot into deep center field, leaving the stadium for a two-run home run and a 5-0 Crushers lead after three innings (Gonzalez now leads the team with five homers).
Back in the lineup, RF Jack Harris sent a fly ball into the jet stream in the 5th, catching the wind and carrying out for a home run, his second of the season, giving the Crushers a 7-0 cushion for Eisenbarger.
Lake Erie would plate another in the 6th inning, but at this point, heads were turned to the mound, as Jack Eisenbarger had tossed six no-hit innings against a top offense in the Frontier League.
In the top of the 7th, Eisenbarger walked the leadoff hitter, but struck out the next batter, then induced a ground ball for a 4-6-3 double play to get him out of the inning. From there, the rest is history.
Eisenbarger would get quick outs in the 8th, keeping his pitch count down into the 9th. But he’d have to face the top of the Aigles lineup.
LF L.P. Pelletier popped out weakly to second base and SS Brandon Hernandez flew out to center field to start the top of the 9th inning.
Then, on his 100th pitch, Jack Eisenbarger got RF Steve Brown to ground a ball to third base. 3B Logan Thomason scooped it up and tossed it to first.
Then, chaos.
The bullpen, who got the honor of sitting on their hands the whole game and watching the lefty’s masterclass, brought the Gatorade tubs to shower Eisenbarger after his second career no-hitter (his first professionally).
Eisenbarger’s No-Hit line: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K on 100 pitches (CG, SO, NH)
The no-no for Lake Erie was big in a lot of ways, but especially in the Frontier League West standings. All three teams (Schaumburg, Washington, and Gateway) ahead of the Crushers in the standings lost on Saturday, allowing the Crushers to make up a game on all the top teams in the division.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 TROIS-RIVIÈRES AIGLES |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS |
1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 12 | 0 |
The two teams will meet again on Sunday, June 9 in the series finale with the first pitch set for 2:05 P.M. EST from Crushers Stadium. Lake Erie is looking for their second series sweep at home in 2024. It’s Superhero Day, so come dressed as your favorite hero!
Frontier League Standings: https://frontierleague.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/overall-standings
Can’t join us at the ballpark? No problem! You can stream the Lake Erie Crushers all season long at FloSports.tv.
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