Avon, Ohio – …where Star Wars and Crushers baseball collided galaxies on Friday night.
Although it wasn’t necessarily a battle between good and evil, Friday night’s affairs proved to be eventful as the Lake Erie Crushers (16-9) hosted the Trois-Rivieres Aigles (12-12), beating them by a score of 2-0.
The win for Lake Erie keeps them at 2.5 games behind in the Frontier League West.
The ballgame showcased one of the best pitching staffs (Lake Erie) versus one of the best lineups (Trois-Rivieres), like the Battle of the Heroes with prime Obi-Wan Kenobi and prime Anakin Skywalker. Kenobi, a master of defense and poise, and Anakin, blinded by his desire for offense. We all know who won that fight.
In the first inning, Crushers starting pitcher Matt Valin struck out the side to start things on a hot note. The K would be Valin’s best friend on Star Wars Night (like Han Solo and Chewbacca).
Leading off the bottom of the 3rd, LF Ronald Washington sent a ball to a galaxy far, far away (or at least over the left field fence) for a home run, giving the Crushers a 1-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Crushers would go on to find another run in the bottom of the fourth inning from 1B Scout Knotts, reaching base on a throwing error then scoring on a RF Jose Torrealba sacrifice fly, making the score 2-0.
Valin finished his time on the mound with nine strikeouts after six innings of work. The only other Aigles baserunner to reach against Valin was on a hit-by-pitch in the 1st inning.
With a 2-0 lead, the Crushers bullpen faced the minimum in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Christian Scafidi, Sammy Tavarez, and Trevor Kuncl (now with 6 saves) were spectacular in relief.
Matt Valin (3-1) snagged his third win of the year after tossing the best outing from a Crushers starting pitcher this season. Didier Vargas of Trois-Rivieres was tagged with the loss despite a quality start.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday, June 8, with the first pitch set for 7:05 P.M. EST from Crushers Stadium. It’s Pride Night, so come out to the ballpark to enjoy a night of baseball and fireworks! Also keep your calendars clear on Sunday at 2:05pm for Superhero Day!
| 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 | 1 | 1 |
 LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Frontier League Standings: https://frontierleague.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/overall-standings
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