LCCCRadio.com – The Duck's Lake Erie Crushers Coverage

(September 23, 2009)

O’Fallon, MO—The Lake Erie Crushers capped off a remarkable inaugural season by winning the 2009 Frontier League Championship by virtue of a 13-10 win over River City in game five of the championship series at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. The Crushers took the best of five series three games to two.

The Crushers used a seven –run fifth inning to erase a two-run deficit and power themselves to the championship as Tyler Johnson hit a three-run double and Todd Balduf added a two-run single to highlight the hit parade.

“Doing this in year one, building a championship from scratch, that’s what made this so special,” a champagne-drenched Manager John Massarelli said afterwards. “This is just an amazing feeling to share this with this great group of guys.”

Arden McWilliams had three hits and drove in three runs for the Crushers, Balduf also drove in three. Eddie Tisdale added three hits and series MVP Andrew Davis scored two runs. Paul Fagan, who worked two innings in relief of Cardoza Tucker, picked up the win. River City reliever Tony Marsala was saddled with the loss.

The Rascals, despite being down by five runs at several points towards the end, never gave up. River City slugged five home runs on the night, including a pair by Chris Colton.

“It’s unbelievable. We couldn’t have done this without Mazz (Massarelli) and this organization,” said Owner Steven Edelson. “These boys did it and in their first year!”

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 21, 2009)

Avon,OH— The Lake Erie Crushers went through the first four and two-thirds innings against River City without a single hit off of starter Stephen Flake in game four of the Frontier League Championship Series. Andrew Davis changed all that with one swing of the bat, as his grand slam homer powered the Crushers to a 4-1 win over the Rascals to tie the best-of-five series at two games apiece. The fifth and deciding game of the series will be on Wednesday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Missouri.

Despite not allowing a hit through four plus innings, Flake had problems with his command and walked the bases loaded with two outs in the fifth, setting the stage for Davis’ heroics. “I was just up there trying to battle the way our team has battled all year,” said Davis afterwards. “I worked the count full and got a good fastball to hit and great things happened.” The grand slam was the Chillicothe, Ohio native’s first homer of the postseason.

The Rascals started quickly off of Lake Erie starter Brent Lysander in the first as Scott Houin, JoJo Batten, and Chad Maddox began the game with singles. Maddox drove home Houin to give River City a 1-0 lead. Lysander recovered from the early damage and would keep the Rascals off the board through four innings. The Crushers then went to their bullpen as Josh Faiola, Jacinto Gonell, Alberto Rolon, and J.J. Pacella combined to throw five scoreless innings. Faiola picked up his first victory of the playoffs while Pacella earned his second save in as many nights. “It all works together: pitching, hitting, and defense,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “Our pitching is what kept us in the ballgame tonight.”

Flake would take the loss despite allowing just one hit in his four and two-thirds innings of work. He walked seven batters and struck out two.

The series shifts back to River City for Game 5 on Wednesday night at 8:05 PM eastern/7:05 PM central. The Rascals will start game one winner Josh Lowey against Lake Erie right-hander Cardoza Tucker. “It’s been a well pitched series….a well played series,” said Massarelli. “You couldn’t ask for anything more, no holds barred between two great teams.”

Game five of the Frontier League Championship Series can be heard on LakeErieCrushers.com with Dave DeNatale starting with the pregame show at 7:45 PM.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 20, 2009)

Avon, OH — Down two games to nothing and facing elimination in the Frontier League Championship Series, the Lake Erie Crushers used two weapons that have been effective for them all year long: Paul Fagan and the home field advantage of All Pro Freight Stadium. Fagan pitched seven dominant innings to lead the Crushers to 3-1 win over River City in game three, but the Rascals still lead the best-of five series two games to one.

Fagan, who was the Frontier League’s Most Valuable Pitcher in the regular season, worked seven innings and allowed just a run on five hits. He struck out three and walked two to pick up his first victory in the postseason. Alberto Rolon worked a scoreless eighth inning and J.J. Pacella got the final three outs for his second save in the playoffs.

The Crushers opened up the scoring in the first inning as Jodam Rivera walked and Drew Saylor followed with a two-run homer to left. The blast was Saylor’s second home run of the postseason. The Crushers tacked on a run in the second inning as Tyler Johnson led off with a bunt single, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Eddie Tisdale. After the Crusher outburst in the first two innings, River City starter Daniel Howard settled down and threw five scoreless frames to keep his team in the game.

River City would finally get to Fagan in the sixth as Scott Houin led off the inning with a solo home run to right. JoJo Batten and Chad Maddox followed with consecutive singles, but Fagan was able to strike out Ernie Banks and then induce a double play grounder from Ryan Wehrle to get out of danger. “It’s all about executing your pitches,” said Fagan afterwards. “I realized after all of the hits that I can’t be doing this and it caused me focus a lot more. It was a big confidence boost to strike out Banks and then get that ground ball.”

The Rascals would not threaten again until the ninth inning when Banks led off with a single against Pacella. With one out in the inning, pinch-hitter Josh Banda hit a grounder to short and Jodam Rivera was able to force out Banks. The play was disputed by River City Manager Chad Parker, who felt that the throw pulled Drew Saylor off of second base. Parker ended up being ejected from the game by umpire Jim Schaly. Pacella got the final out of the game to complete the Crusher victory.

The Crushers will look to draw even in the series on Monday night at 7:05 at All Pro Freight Stadium. Brent Lysander will make the start against Stephen Flake. “In shorts series you run on bursts of momentum,” said Manager John Massarelli. “If we were able to turn it around on our side a little, well that’s what you need to do to win series.” Tickets for game four are available at the Lake Erie Crushers box office, online at lakeeriecrushers.com, or by calling (440) 934-3636.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 18, 2009)

O’Fallon, MO—The Lake Erie Crushers find themselves on the brink of elimination in the Frontier League Championship Series after falling to the River City Rascals in the bottom of the ninth by the final of 6-5. Scott Houin’s one-out single brought home pinch-runner Joe Chavarria with the game-winning run to give the Rascals a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Crushers failed to hold leads of 2-0 and 4-1 as the Rascals won their fifth consecutive postseason game. Eddie Tisdale got the Crushers off and running in the second inning with an RBI double, that brought home Gordon Gronkowski to give Lake Erie a 1-0 lead. The Crushers added to their lead in the fifth inning as Tyler Johnson hit a two-out RBI double to again score Gronkowski to push the lead out to 2-0. Cardoza Tucker would give a run back in the bottom of the fifth as the Lake Erie starter allowed a leadoff triple to Danny Sawyer and then an RBI groundout to Jorge Gutierrez as the Crushers lead was reduced to 2-1.

In the sixth inning, Lake Erie would strike for a pair of runs as Todd Balduf and Andrew Davis each hit RBI singles to extend the lead to 4-1. But again River City would come right back as Ernie Banks hit a two-run triple off of Tucker and knock the Crusher advantage down to just a run. Tucker worked five plus innings on the night, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk.
Alberto Rolon relieved and got the Crushers out of the inning with no further damage. River City would get to Rolon in the bottom of the eighth as the first two men reached base and then were moved over on a wild pitch. Ryan Wehrle hit an RBI single to tie the game at four and then after the Crushers recorded a line out double play, J.J. Pacella’s wild pitch allowed Banks to score to give the Rascals their first lead of the night.

The Crushers rallied off of Rascals closer Jason Lowey in the ninth as Andrew Davis led off the inning with a double, Gronkowski followed with a single, and Johnson added an RBI single to tie the game at five. With the bases loaded and one out, pinch-hitter Tim Binkoski hit a line shot to shortstop Jorge Gutierrez, who completed a double play with a flip to second. Gutierrez then started the winning rally for the Rascals in the ninth with a leadoff double off of Pacella.

The Crushers will look to stay alive in the Frontier League Championship Series with game three on Sunday at 5:05 PM. Paul Fagan will make the start for the Crushers against Daniel Howard.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 17, 2009)

O’Fallon, MO—River City right-hander Josh Lowey combined with three relievers on a six-hit shutout as the Rascals defeated the Lake Erie Crushers 6-0 to take game one of the Frontier League Championship Series at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

Lowey worked six innings allowing six hits, while striking out a season-high eight batters and walking three. Tony Marsala, Brent Solich, and Jason Lowey each threw a scoreless inning of relief out of the bullpen for the Rascals. Brent Lysander took the loss for the Crushers, allowing three runs on four hits in five innings of work for Lake Erie. He struck out five and walked four.

River City’s offense scratched out single runs in each of the first three innings to provide all the offense Lowey would need. JoJo Batten hit an RBI single in the first, Josh Banda slammed a two-out, solo homer in the second, and Lysander hit Danny Sawyer with the bases loaded in the third to give the Rascals a 3-0 lead.

The Crushers would not get a hit off of Lowey until the fourth inning, but in the sixth, they appeared to finally be on their way to scoring some runs. Andrew Davis, Gordon Gronkowski, and Tyler Johnson started the inning with consecutive singles, but Davis was thrown out at the plate by Chris Colton, prompting a heated argument between home plate umpire Jim Schaly and Crushers Manager John Massarelli. Lowey was able to work his way out of any damage as he struck out pinch-hitter Tim Binkoski with the bases loaded to end the Crushers threat.

The Rascals would then proceed to put the game out of reach in the bottom of the sixth inning as Josh Banda hit his second homer of the night, a two-run shot, off of reliever Cristobal Mata. Batten also would go deep off of Jacinto Gonell with a solo homer to complete the scoring at 6-0.

The two teams will meet again on Friday for game two of the Frontier League Championship Series. Cardoza Tucker will get the start for the Crushers against Jake Laber. Game time at T.R. Hughes Ballpark is set for 8:05 PM Eastern.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 14, 2009)

Kalamazoo, MI—The Lake Erie Crushers magical inaugural season ride will continue into the Frontier League Championship series. The Crushers fought off the Kalamazoo Kings to win game five of the Divisional Series in ten innings by the final of 6-2. Lake Erie won the best-of-five series three games to two and will now meet River City for the league championship starting on Thursday in O’Fallon, Missouri.

The Crushers used a pair of two-run homers to break a 2-2 tie in the tenth inning as Tyler Johnson hit a blast to left field to put Lake Erie ahead by a 4-2 count. “It was a big hit for us,” said Johnson. “All the guys in this clubhouse worked so hard to get us here and I’m happy that I could come up with that kind of a big play.” Two batters later, Arden McWilliams launched a two-run shot to deep center field to provide the Crushers with a four run lead. J.J. Pacella pitched a perfect bottom of the tenth inning to close out the victory.

Lake Erie fell behind in the third inning as Jett Ruiz led off with a solo homer off of Paul Fagan to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run that Fagan would allow in his five and a third innings on the mound. The Crushers grabbed the lead in the fifth inning as Drew Saylor hit a two-run homer to left field to propel Lake Erie to a 2-1 advantage. It was Saylor’s first homer and first runs batted in of the series.

Alberto Rolon carried the slim Crusher lead into the ninth inning as he pitched two and two-thirds perfect innings. He struck out three and would give way to Ronnie Morales in the top of the ninth. Morales struck out Tim Brown and then was relieved by Cardoza Tucker, who is normally a starter. Tucker got Matt Maloney to fly out but would give up a walk to Amos Ramon and a single to Destan Makonnen. With Ramon at third, Tucker threw a wild pitch to Jett Ruiz that tied the game at two. After walking Ruiz, Tucker got Kyle Higgins to fly out to keep the game tied at two, setting the stage for the Crusher offensive heroics in the tenth inning.

“My hat’s off to Kalamazoo. They fight and I think in fact they taught us how to win,” said Crusher manager John Massarelli afterwards. “Looking ahead to River City, all those games we played against them this year were tough. It’s going to be a good series, no question about it.”The Crushers were 2-4 against the Rascals in 2009, losing all three games that were played at All Pro Freight Stadium, but taking two out of three at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 12, 2009)

Avon, OH—All seemed well for the Lake Erie Crushers on Sunday in game four of their divisional series with Kalamazoo. They started the day needing a win to advance to the Frontier League Championship series and had a 5-0 lead after one inning. But the Kings refused to say die and rallied with seven unanswered runs to beat the Crushers by the final of 7-5 to force a deciding game five on Monday night at Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo.

After Kalamazoo starter John Brownell allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits in the first, he clamped down the Crushers offense for the remainder of the afternoon. Brownell went the distance for a complete game victory, allowing six hits while striking out six and walking three. “An amazing performance by Brownell,” said Crusher skipper John Massarelli afterwards. “As impressive as I’ve ever seen.”

The Crushers went after Brownell quickly in the first as Andrew Davis doubled home Jodam Rivera for a 1-0 lead. Tyler Johnson added a two-run single and the Crushers picked up two more thanks to an error on Kings second baseman Joe Ramos. Down 5-0, the Kings started their comeback in the third inning on an RBI single by Brandon Anderson off of Cardoza Tucker. Anderson struck again in the fifth inning as he lined a Tucker pitch over the wall in right-center field for his first home run of the postseason. Tucker worked five plus innings for the Crushers, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks to earn a no-decision.

The Kings would tie the game in the sixth inning as Amos Ramon hit an RBI single followed by a Brendan Murphy run-scoring grounder. With two outs in the inning, Kyle Higgins hit a fly ball to center that was dropped by Tyler Johnson, allowing Ramon to score the game-tying run. Kalamazoo would take their first lead of the game in the eighth inning as Matt Maloney led off the inning with a single, was sacrificed to second by Ramon, and then scored on Jett Ruiz’s RBI double. In the ninth, the Kings would pick up an insurance run on a sacrifice fly by Maloney that scored Ramos.

The Crushers and Kings will play one game to decide the Divisional Series on Monday evening at 7:05 in Kalamazoo. “They (Kalamazoo) know how to win, and so do my guys,” said Massarelli. “That’s why it’s a heckuva series and should be a tremendous game five.”

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 11, 2009)

Avon, OH—The Lake Erie Crushers are just a win away from playing for the Frontier League Championship after winning game three of the Divisional Series against Kalamazoo by the final of 4-2 on Friday night at All Pro Freight Stadium. Lake Erie leads the best-of-five series two games to one.

Alberto Rolon won his second game of the series, pitching three-and-a third scoreless innings of relief for Brent Lysander. Rolon did not allow a hit while striking out three and walking four. He paved the way for Crusher closer J.J. Pacella, who struck out the side in the ninth to earn the save. “That was pretty much how we had planned it from the outset tonight,” said Lake Erie Manager John Massarelli afterwards. “We wanted Brent (Lysander) to give us five innings and he came very close to that. Rolon was outstanding and J.J. did his job to wrap it up.”

The Crushers fell behind early as Matt Maloney hit a first inning sacrifice fly off of Lysander to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Lysander was able to work out of several jams early on and lasted four and two-thirds innings, striking out three and walking six. The Crushers got on the board in the third as Wayne Bond led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a passed ball, went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kylee Hash, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jodam Rivera to tie the game.

Lake Erie would take the lead for good in the fourth inning as Gordon Gronkowski and Tyler Johnson hit back-to-back doubles to give the Crushers a 2-1 lead. Eddie Tisdale followed with an RBI single to plate Johnson to extend the lead to 3-1. Tisdale is now hitting .636 in the postseason with six runs batted in.

Kalamazoo would add a run in the fifth against Lysander on a Maloney RBI single, but Rolon stuck out Amos Ramon with two on to prevent any further damage. The Crushers added some insurance in the eighth inning as a squeeze bunt by Arden McWilliams brought home pinch runner Jesse Gibson for the final run of the night.

The Crushers and Kings will meet on Saturday afternoon for game 4 at 1:05 P.M. It will be a rematch of game one starters John Brownell for Kalamazoo and Cardoza Tucker for Lake Erie. “Tonight was a win, that’s two, but we need one more,” said Massarelli. “Kalamazoo is a good team and they’ll give us their best effort tomorrow. Hopefully we can match that.”

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 9, 2009)

Kalamazoo, MI— The Kalamazoo Kings battled back from a 4-0 deficit, hitting four home runs and scoring 10 unanswered runs to beat the Lake Erie Crushers by the final of 10-4. The victory by the Kings ties the best-of-five Frontier League Divisional Series at a game apiece heading into Friday’s game three at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon.

The Crushers picked up where they left off on Tuesday night, scoring three times in the first inning on a three-run double by Eddie Tisdale off of Joe DiPietro to take a 3-0 lead after one. DiPietro was knocked out of the game by a line drive off the bat of Arden McWilliams that ricocheted off of the right-hander’s leg. In place of DiPietro, the Kalamazoo bullpen combined to throw eight and a third innings, allowing just a run on three hits. The lone run came on an error by Kings third baseman Amos Ramon that allowed Tisdale to score in the third inning.

Kalamazoo would start their comeback in the third inning with a two-run homer by Joe Ramos off of Paul Fagan. Brendan Murphy pulled the Kings to within one in the fourth with an RBI double. In the fifth, Kalamazoo would take command of the game as Ramos again went deep off of Fagan with a solo blast to left. After the next two men reached against Fagan, Josh Faiola relieved and promptly gave up a three run homer to Matt Maloney to give the Kings a 7-4 lead.

The Kings added two in the sixth on a two-run homer by Josh Short and then closed out the scoring in the seventh as Jett Ruiz scored on a throwing error by Crushers catcher Kylee Hash. Scott Reid pitched three and a third scoreless innings to earn the victory, while Tommy Mejia pitched the final three innings for the save. Fagan allowed five earned runs on seven hits to take the loss.

“Paul just didn’t pitch well enough for us to win tonight,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli afterwards. “The bottom line is the game’s over, we lost and we’ll come back on Friday and try to pick up a win.”

The Crushers will send right-hander Brent Lysander to the mound against Kalamazoo’s Bernard Robert in game three. First pitch at All Pro Freight Stadium is set for 7:05 P.M.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

(September 8, 2009)

Kalamazoo, MI—Wayne Bond’s solo homer off of Kalamazoo’s Dan Baerlocker in the top of the ninth inning powered the Lake Erie Crushers to a win in game one of the Frontier League’s best-of-five Division Series by the final of 8-7. The homer was Bond’s second of the game and the sixth by Lake Erie on Tuesday night at Homer Stryker Field.

Bond’s home run capped a rally by the Crushers after falling behind the Kings by as many as four runs during game one. Kalamazoo scored twice in the first and four more times in the second to knock Lake Erie starter Cardoza Tucker out of the game. But the Crushers bullpen came to the rescue, throwing seven and a third innings, allowing just one run on five hits, while striking out nine and walking only one.
“Obviously when you get in a situation when your starter is struggling and you go to your pen that early, you need some innings and Josh (Faiola) set the tone and the other guys followed suit,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “Once we got the ball to Rolon, we liked our chances.”

Alberto Rolon pitched the final two innings for the Crushers and did not allow a base runner, although there was a tense moment in the ninth with one out. Kalamazoo’s Tim Brown hit a line shot to deep right, but Arden McWilliams made a superb catch at the wall to rob Brown of a home run.

The Crushers scored single runs in the first, second, fifth and seventh innings to put pressure on Kings starter John Brownell. Jodam Rivera led off the game with a solo homer to right, Eddie Tisdale added an RBI double in the second and a solo homer in the fifth. Bond brought the Crushers to within three runs in the seventh with a solo homer to left. In the eighth, the Crushers would put more pressure on the Kings as Gordon Gronkowski hit a two-run homer to left to pull Lake Erie to within a run. Two pitches later, Tyler Johnson launched a solo homer to right to tie the game at seven. Both homers in the eighth came off of reliever Jason LaVorgna. That set the stage for Bond’s heroics in the ninth.

“That’s what’s so awesome about being a part of this team,” said Bond afterwards. “We can be down by four runs, but everyone just stays positive and keeps hitting and good things happen.”

The Crushers now own home field advantage and will look to take a 2-0 series lead on Wednesday night with ace Paul Fagan on the mound against Kalamazoo’s Joe DiPietro. Game time will be at 7:05 P.M.

The Lake Erie Crushers are the newest expansion team in the Frontier League, an independent professional league with 12 teams throughout the Midwest. The team plays its home games at All Pro Freight Stadium, the new 5,000 capacity ballpark located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 611 in Avon. Season tickets and Mini-plans are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.