Lake Erie Crushers News & Game Recaps

Y’alls overpower Crushers; Achenbach tallies six RBIs

Box Link: pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=542327

FLORENCE, Kentucky – The Lake Erie Crushers and Florence Y’alls settled the score Thursday with another explosive night offensively. In a series that had already been filled with much excitement and run-scoring, the two squads combined for 17 runs in the finale.

The Crushers (20-18) wasted no time asserting themselves on the scoresheet in the top of the first inning. After a couple of walks and an Isaac Benard single, Trevor Achenbach cleared the bases with a crushed grand slam. Lake Erie registered grand slams in back-to-back games against Florence.

The Y’alls had an answer in their half of the first. A wild pitch scored Luis Pintor from third base. A couple more runs would be tallied following a home run shot off the bat of Trevor Craport. The Crushers finished the first inning with a 4-3 lead in the ballgame.

Following a stolen base by Benard in the top of the second, Achenbach delivered an RBI double to secure the two-run lead for the Men of Crush.

Consecutive run-scoring doubles from Craport and Harrison DiNicola propelled the Y’alls to their first advantage on the scoreboard in the rubber match. Florence led 6-5 after the first three innings.

An unbelievable night from Achenbach continued in the fourth inning. He roped a solo home run to tie the game and was responsible for all six runs the Crushers had acquired up to that point.

Pintor would match Achenbach in the Florence half of the inning. The Y’alls regained the one-run advantage during the middle stages of the affair.

Jake Pilarski was unable to follow up his golden performance in his last outing versus Windy City. Pilarski managed four innings of work in a game where he allowed seven runs on seven hits. He struck out five Y’alls along the way.

Overall, it was a good night for players named Trevor. Craport slapped another home run off Ean Walda in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 8-6.

Florence starter Casey Grimm did not turn in the start he was looking for either. He surrendered six runs on nine hits over the span of five innings.

DiNicola would cross home on a double by Johnny Knight that left the Grapest Show on Turf down three runs. Lake Erie avoided digging a deeper hole in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Eric Callahan made a highlight-reel catch, laying out to his left at shortstop. He flipped the ball to Achenbach covering second base to finish the frame with a double play.

Crunch time rolled in during the top of the ninth inning for the Crushers. A Shawon Dunston Jr. leadoff single raised the hopes of Lake Erie fans. Those hopes started to increase even more as Benard demolished a ball over the wall in right field to pull the Crushers within a run. That was all the Crushers could manage in the frame, with the Y’alls winning the game 9-8 and taking the series two games to one.

Grimm ends with the win putting him at 1-0 on the season. Pilarski was dealt the loss, moving him to 1-1 on the year. In a bumpy effort in the ninth, Andrew McDonald could do just enough to preserve the save and the win. He now has recorded four saves in 2021.

Steve Passatempo’s impressive streak of consecutive games registering a home run came to an end. The previous three games, he had gone yard.

The Crushers will next head to Crestwood, Illinois, to face the Windy City ThunderBolts. The T-Bolts are fresh off a series sweep of the Schaumburg Boomers and now post a record of 14-23.

Grafton, Ohio native Ryan Feierabend is the scheduled started for Lake Erie. His counterpart will be Logan Wiley.

The first pitch Friday night is scheduled for 8:05 pm EST.