Avon, Ohio – After a walk-off home run on Friday, a no-hitter on Saturday, Sunday was poised to be another memorable outing between the Lake Erie Crushers (7-2) and Quebec Capitales (4-5). 1B Vincent Byrd Jr. did just that with a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, the third walk-off of the week, Crushers winning by a score of 1-0.
The win keeps Lake Erie within a half game of 1st place in the Frontier League West, as Schaumburg is sitting at 7-1 coming out of Sunday.
As has been the story of this three-game set, the pitching on both sides was masterful. Crushers RHP Anthony Escobar tossed six scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and one walk, striking out seven Capitales on his way to a quality start.
On the opposite side, Quebec RHP Sam Ryan was poised through six innings as he allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out six batters.
The relievers would continue the storyline the starting pitchers put into place. Crushers reliever RHP Sammy Tavarez allowed just one single in the seventh, rolling a double play two batters later to face the minimum. Then LHP Kenny Pierson struck out one in the eighth, neither allowing a run across the plate.
For the Capitales, reliever RHP James Bradwell struck out one in his time on the mound in the seventh before giving up one hit and striking out another in the eighth. Two scoreless innings for the Quebec long reliever.
Then, Jared Lemieux emptied the tank, throwing Crushers closer Trevor Kuncl, who struck out two en-route to a scoreless top of the 9th.
The Capitales brought in reliever RHP Austin Marozas to try and force extra innings, but this time the bat of Vincent Byrd Jr. sent a solo homer to right field, tracking for I-90, and ultimately giving the Crushers another 1-0 victory, securing their third series win to start the 2024 season.
Byrd’s second home run of the season came in walk-off fashion, as a “Wizarding Day” victory puts the Crushers at 7-2 heading into their first road trip.
Vincent Byrd Jr. joins C Alfredo Gonzalez in the walk-off home run category, coming just two days apart. The Crushers 2B Ethan Skender also drew a walk-off walk on Wednesday, tallying the early total to three walk-offs in just nine games to start the season.
Lake Erie will hit the road for the first time in the 2024 season on Tuesday, May 21 against the Windy City Thunderbolts for a three-game series. The first pitch is set for 11:35 a.m. EST
| Score by Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Quebec Capitales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Lake Erie Crushers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Frontier League Standings: https://frontierleague.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/overall-standings
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