Lake Erie falls to Washington, 6-5
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Washington, PA. – Lake Erie Crushers (34-38) picked up a key win on Saturday night to set up the rubber match on Sunday. For the Washington Wild Things (47-25) it was an opportunity to pick up a series against an opponent they’ve had success on all season long.
It was a rough start for the Crushers as Washington was on the board first. It’s the first time the Wild Things had the lead first. Washington never surrendered the lead but the Crushers made it interesting in the ninth inning to where it was a one run game. The comeback wasn’t enough as Washington won 6-5.
Washington came right out of the gates with three runs in the first inning, two runs in the second inning. In the first, Wagner Lagrange drove an RBI single to right field. Ian Walters followed with an RBI single to center field. Tyler Wilber ended the inning with an RBI single to center field. In the second, Andrew Czech mashed a two run home run over the right field wall, extending the lead to five.
The score remained the same until the sixth inning. Walters scored on an errant throw from right fielder Sean Cheely.
The pitching efforts in the early going were strong from Washington. Justin Showalter started for the Wild Things, he turned in one of his better starts. He threw five scoreless innings, allowed four hits, three walks, and struck out one. Kenny Pierson followed out of the bullpen and threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. For Lake Erie, Jay Alvarez struggled in the early going. Giving up five runs in the first two innings. Overall, he lasted six innings, allowed nine hits, six runs (five earned), walked one, and one strikeout.
Lake Erie erased the goose egg in the eighth inning. Kokoo Figueiredo drew a bases-loaded walk, cutting the deficit to five.
Going into the top of the ninth, Christian James, who recorded the last out in the eighth inning returned to the mound for the ninth. The Crushers saw James well at the plate, the first three men reached and loaded the bases. With one out, Jake Gitter raised the tension with a grand slam to right field, cutting the deficit to one run. After the slam, James struck out two straight Crushers to seal the deal with a 6-5 series win.
Lake Erie will return to action on Tuesday, August 9th. They’ll remain on the road and travel to Sauget, Ill. to face off against the Gateway Grizzlies for three games. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:45 PM ET.
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