Stranded
Crushers leave 10 on base in 1-0 loss
AVON, Ohio — The Lake Erie Crushers, presented by Mercy Health, left 10 men on base, which would prove to be very costly in a 1-0 loss against the River City Rascals at Sprenger Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Crushers (37-32) have now lost five out of their last seven games, while the Rascals (40-32) have now defeated the Crushers six times in eight meetings this season.
Former Cleveland Indians outfielder Coco Crisp started the game for the Crushers. He batted fourth and was the Designated Hitter. Crisp went 1-for-3 with a single to right field in his second at bat.
Lake Erie stranded five base runners over the first two innings of the contest. Aaron Hill walked to start the first inning and made his way to third on a one out single from Emmanuel Marrero. River City lefty Alex Winkelman (7-2) then struck out Crisp and Zach Racusin followed with a pop out to end the inning.
The Crushers squandered another chance to score in the bottom of the second. Steven Kraft reached on a one out double to left, before back-to-back two out walks were issued to Dre Hubbard and Hill. Dale Burdick then lined out to third, ending the threat.
For the second night in a row, former Crusher L.J. Kalawaia came back to haunt his former team. Kalawaia smacked a one out double off the wall in right field with one out in the sixth inning. Trevor Achenbach drove him home two batters later on a two out RBI single to left.
Winkelman picked up the victory for the Rascals, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings and allowed just five hits while striking out seven along the way. Jason Zgardowski (10) picked up his second save in as many nights with a scoreless ninth inning of work. Paul Hall Jr. (1-1) took the hard luck loss, despite a terrific outing. He allowed just a run on six hits while fanning four batters over 6.1 innings of work.
Marrero led the way for the Crushers offensively, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, and has now hit safely in four straight games, and seven out of his last eight. Kraft reached safely two times, extending his on base streak to 26 games.
The Crushers will finish their three game series with the River City Rascals at Sprenger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Lefty Jared Koenig (5-1, 2.62) will start for the Crushers and the Rascals will counter with right-hander Taylor Ahearn (2-2, 2.53). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM.
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