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

(August 27, 2009)

Avon, OH—Left-hander Paul Fagan delivered another superb performance on the mound for Lake Erie, throwing eight and two-thirds shutout innings, as the Crushers topped the Washington Wild Things 3-0 on Thursday night at All Pro Freight Stadium. With the victory, the Crushers completed a three game sweep of the Wild Things and finished their homestand with a perfect 6-0 record.

Fagan allowed only five hits on the night, while striking out seven and walking two. He is now the Frontier League’s first pitcher to reach 13 wins on the season. “It was a great performance all the way around from Paul tonight,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “He was just dominant out there.”

The Crushers would give Fagan all of the run support he would need in the second inning as they racked up four straight two-out hits off of Washington starter Jason Neitz. Eddie Tisdale and Brad Griffiths each hit RBI singles to give the Crushers a 2-0 lead.

Lake Erie added a run in the fourth as Arden McWilliams hit a solo homer to right. It was McWilliams 12th homer of the season and third on the homestand. McWilliams finished the night three for four at the plate. “I feel great right now,” said McWilliams afterwards. “I got a good three-one fastball and I was able to hit that ball over the fence and give us a run..”

The Wild Things only advanced past first base once on the night as Fagan dominated throughout the evening. He was pulled with a runner at first and two outs in the ninth, and J.J. Pacella came in to get the final out for his seventh save of the season.

The Crushers are now 52-35 on the season and will head to Traverse City to start the first of six straight on the road on Friday night. Game time at Wuerfel Park 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.

(August 26, 2009)

Avon, OH— Gordon Gronkowski’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth brought home Drew Saylor with the game winning run as the Lake Erie Crushers topped the Washington Wild Things 6-5. The Crushers have now won a franchise-record five straight games.

After Washington reliever Keith Meyer got the first two outs in the ninth, Saylor hit a double to left to give the Crushers a chance. Meyer intentionally walked Andrew Davis and then Gronkowski hit the first pitch he saw into left field to bring home Saylor for the win. “I love having that pressure with the game on the line,” said Gronkowski after-wards. “It’s a great feeling to be able to help our team come back and get that win.”

It was a back and forth game all evening long as the two teams traded leads. Washington started off quickly as they scored single runs in the first, third, and fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead on Cardoza Tucker and the Crushers. But Lake Erie’s offense would finally get to Wild Things starter Craig Snipp in the fourth as Andrew Davis hit a sacrifice fly to score Jodam Rivera for the Crushers’ first run of the game.

Lake Erie would add a pair of runs in the fifth inning as Eddie Tisdale’s RBI single scored Tyler Johnson, and an error on the same play allowed Arden McWilliams to score the game’s tying run. Tisdale would collect another RBI in the sixth inning as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Crushers the lead for the first time all evening at 4-3. Davis then gave the Crushers a two-run lead in the seventh with an RBI double that brought home Rivera. But Washington refused to surrender as they came back in the eighth with a pair of runs. Matt Sutton’s fourth hit of the night, a single to left, brought home Grant Psomas to bring the Wild Things within a run. Chris Rainiere followed with a double play grounder that brought home Ryan Groth to tie the game.

The Crushers are now 51-35 on the season and will close out their series with Washington, and their six-game homestand Thursday evening at 7:05. Paul Fagan will get the start against Jason Neitz.

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.

(August 25, 2009)

Avon, OH—The Lake Erie Crushers continued their winning ways at home on Tuesday night as they defeated the Washington Wild Things by the final of 5-3. The Crushers have won all four of their games so far on their homestand at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Brent Lysander returned to the Crushers rotation for the first time in 12 days after suffering a strained oblique muscle. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits in his four innings of work. Cristobal Mata went two and a third scoreless innings in relief of Lysander to earn the victory, while J.J. Pacella pitched the final inning and a third for his sixth save of the year.

“I was encouraged with Lysander’s performance tonight,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “He ran up there and threw about 80 pitches and his velocity was there.”

After falling behind by a run in the first, the Crushers offense went to work in the second inning against Brian McCollough as Wayne Bond delivered an RBI single to right to tie the game. Andrew Davis would put Lake Erie in the lead for good in the third with a solo homer to right, his 15th of the season. The Crushers added two more runs in the sixth inning on RBI singles by Drew Saylor and Gordon Gronkowski, and then Arden McWilliams capped off the scoring with a solo homer to left in the seventh.

The Crushers pitching staff allowed only three hits on the night. Ryan Groth supplied most of the offense for the Wild Things with an RBI double in the first, and a solo homer in the 9th. Washington also added a run in the eighth on a bases loaded walk.

The Crushers are now 50-35 on the season and will continue their three game series with the Wild Things on Wednesday evening at 7:05. Cardoza Tucker will get the start against Craig Snipp.

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.

(August 23, 2009)

Avon, OH—The Lake Erie Crushers again unleashed an offensive onslaught against the Evansville Otters, as they wrapped up a three game sweep with a 15-4 win on Sunday evening at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Everyone who started for the Crushers came through with at least one hit as Lake Erie pounded out a total of 19 against the Otters pitching staff. Arden McWilliams had a career night for the Crushers, as the rookie from Shaker Heights went 4-for-5 with a home run and five runs batted in. Tyler Johnson chipped in with two hits and three runs batted in, and Drew Saylor also added two hits including his ninth homer of the season.

Crushers starter Alberto Rolon was the beneficiary of all of the run support, but in truth, he didn’t need much help from the offense. Working on three days rest, the rookie allowed just three hits in six scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season. “I really didn’t feel any different out there today,” Rolon said afterwards. “I just tried to establish my fastball and work in the offspeed pitches and it really worked out today.”

The Crushers batted around the order in the third and sixth innings as they built up a 12-0 lead going into the seventh before the Otters finally broke through. Evansville scored a run in the seventh and added three more in the eighth. The Crushers made sure there would be no comeback as they tacked on three runs in the bottom of the eighth to close the scoring at 15-4.

With two weeks to go, the Crushers are now 49-35 on the season and will take Monday off before opening a three game series with Washington on Tuesday evening at All Pro Freight Stadium. “At this point in the season, we’re happy to get a day off,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “We’ll look forward to going back to work for the final 12 games. It should be exciting.”

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.

(August 22, 2009)

Avon, OH—The Lake Erie Crushers built an 11-0 lead, then had to hold off a late charge by the Evansville Otters before finally coming away with an 11-8 victory on Saturday evening at All Pro Freight Stadium.

Crushers starter Paul Fagan, working on only three days rest, dazzled on the mound for six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, while striking out four and walking two to earn his Frontier League-leading 12th victory of the season.

Lake Erie’s offense jumped out in the first inning against Evansville starter John Ducey as Gordon Gronkowski slammed a three-run homer to left-center field. The Crushers kept the pressure on in the second as two walks by Ducey and two errors on the Otters produced a pair of runs and a 5-0 lead. Jodam Rivera added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and then the Crushers seemingly put the game out of reach in the fifth inning. Wayne Bond hit an RBI single and Brad Griffiths added a three-run double to put Lake Erie up by a 10-0 score. The Crushers added a run on a double play grounder in the sixth for an 11 run cushion.

But in the seventh, Evansville closed the gap as Andre Liscinsky hit a two-run single off of Shannon Sprouse to put the Otters on the board. Frank Meade and Cameron Satterwhite added RBI doubles in the eighth, followed by a bases loaded walk to Liscinsky and a Kenny Gilbert RBI single and suddenly the Otters were within three. Josh Faiola relieved Jacinto Gonell and got the final two outs in the eighth inning and followed up with a perfect ninth for his third save of the season. “Faiola did the job for us tonight,” said Lake Erie Manager John Massarelli. “He came in and threw strikes and that’s what we needed in that situation.”

Lake Erie improves to 48-35 on the season and will conclude their three game series with the Otters on Sunday evening. Alberto Rolon will be on the mound for the Crushers against Stephen Brock.

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.

(August 21, 2009)

Avon, OH—After a difficult six game road trip that ended with a sweep at Southern Illinois, the Lake Erie Crushers returned home to All Pro Freight Stadium and beat the Evansville Otters by an 8-2 score on Friday night in front of more than 4,600 fans.

Right-hander Cardoza Tucker powered the Crushers to victory with eight dominating innings on the mound. Tucker allowed just two runs on six hits, while striking out a season-high seven batters against just one walk. “This win was very important for us tonight,” said Tucker afterwards. “We’ve got a lot of guys banged up and I took the responsibility to go out there and give us some innings and help out the bullpen.”

The Crushers fell behind early as Luke Hetherington delivered a first inning RBI single to give Evansville a 1-0 lead. Lake Erie tied the game in the third as Tyler Johnson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home Drew Saylor. The Crushers then took command of the game in the fifth as Saylor hit an RBI single, Gordon Gronkowski added a run scoring double, and Eddie Tisdale chipped in with an RBI grounder to give Lake Erie a 4-1 lead.

After Evansville scored a run in the top of the seventh, Gronkowski put the Crushers back up by three with a solo homer to center. The blast was his 19th of the season. Then in the eighth, Brad Griffths hit a two-run home run to left and Saylor capped off the scoring with an RBI double.

“Tonight’s game was big for us coming off of the way the road trip ended,” said Crushers skipper John Massarelli. “We come home tired, but there’s 4600 fans there screaming for us. It really helps.”

Lake Erie improves to 47-35 on the season and will continue their three game series with the Otters on Saturday evening. Paul Fagan will be on the mound for the Crushers against John Ducey.

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.

(August 20, 2009)

Marion, IL –For the second night in a row, the Lake Erie Crushers fell victim to a last at-bat win by Southern Illinois as Jereme Milons’ RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning gave the Miners a 4-3 win. Southern Illinois completed a three game sweep with the victory at Rent One Park.

The Crushers rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the eighth inning to take their first lead of the night and in the series. Andrew Davis’ RBI fielder’s choice hit scored Jodam Rivera to tie the game. Then with two outs, Tyler Johnson gave the Crushers the advantage on an RBI single that scored Scott McIlvain. But the Crushers could not hold the lead in the ninth as J.J. Pacella gave up a two-out RBI double to Landon Camp to send the game into extra innings tied at three. Pacella would ultimately suffer his first loss of the season as he allowed two runs on four hits with five walks in two and a third innings.

The Miners started the game strong against starter Josh Faiola in the first inning as Adam Hale hit a two-out RBI single and Andrew Sweet drew a bases-loaded walk to give Southern Illinois a 2-0 lead. The Crushers came back to score a run in the second as Brad Griffiths also walked with the bases loaded to score Gordon Gronkowski.. Pitching would rule the next several innings for both teams as Cristobal Mata came out of the bullpen for Lake Erie to throw four scoreless innings. He struck out four, walked two, and allowed only one hit. The Miners received a quality start from Joe Augustine, who yielded a run on three hits with six strikeouts in six and a third innings.

Lake Erie falls to 46-35 on the season and will return home to All Pro Freight Stadium on Friday evening to open a three game series with the Evansville Otters. Cardoza Tucker will make the start for the Crushers.

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.

(August 19, 2009)

Marion, IL –The Lake Erie Crushers rallied twice against the Miners from Southern Illinois, but ultimately ran out of comebacks as they fell in heartbreaking fashion by the final of 5-4. Landon Camp scored the game winning run on a sacrifice fly by Will Block in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The start of the game was delayed for nearly an hour and 20 minutes due to rain. Once the game began, the Miners captured the early lead on a solo homer by Adam Hale off of Alberto Rolon in the second inning. Lake Erie came back to tie the game in the top half of the fifth inning as a groundout by Kylee Hash scored Arden McWilliams.

But the Miners would put three runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth against Rolon as Jereme Milions hit an RBI groundout to score Camp and then Tony Roth followed with a two-run homer to give Southern Illinois a 4-1 lead. Rolon allowed four runs on five hits in his five innings of work but would ultimately earn a no-decision.

The Crushers fought back to tie the game in the seventh inning, doing their damage with two outs. Jodam Rivera’s RBI double scored Wayne Bond, and an error by Hale enabled Nick Maragas to cross the plate as well. Drew Saylor followed with an RBI single, his third hit of the game to score Rivera and tie the game at four. The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the ninth when Camp led off with a double against Jacinto Gonell. A wild pitch moved Camp to third, setting up Block’s game winning sacrifice fly.

Lake Erie falls to 46-34 on the season and will face the Miners on Thursday in the series finale at Rent One Park. The Crushers have yet to name their starter, while Southern Illinois will have Joe Augustine taking the mound.

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.

(August 18, 2009)

MARION, Ill.- Miners starter Ryan Bird was nearly flawless coming off 12 days rest, leading the Miners to a 5-1 victory over Lake Erie Tuesday night at Rent One Park. Bird went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on three hits, striking out five and walking two. He last took the mound on Aug. 5 at River City, and he looked very well rested on Tuesday. He had a no-hitter broken up by the first batter in the sixth inning.

The only blemmish on Bird’s scoreline occurred in the seventh inning when he gave up a lead-off triple to second baseman Drew Saylor. Bird left the game with runners on the corners and one out. Adam Revelette entered in relief and allowed a sacrafice fly to Eddie Tisdale that scored Drew Saylor to make it a 5-1 contest. Jereme Milons gave Southern Illinois the early 1-0 lead in the third inning when he tripled home Will Block. Tony Roth extended the Miners lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly, scoring Milons.

Three more Miners plated in the third inning. Andrew Sweet and Landon Camp scored on a fielding error by Lake Erie centerfielder Wayne Bond making it 4-0. Block later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jereme Milons putting Southern Illinois up 5-0. Three Miners relievers combinded for 2.2 innings of shutout ball, preserving the victory. Southern Illinois moved to within a game of first place, with a loss by Windy City earlier in the night.

The Miners and Crushers will play Game 2 of the series on Wednesday night at Rent One Park. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Lake Erie will send righty Alberto Rolon (2-1, 3.71) to the bump, while Southern Illinois will counter with right-hander Brett Scarpetta (4-4, 3.65). It will be Why Work Wednesday at the ballpark and Healthcare Workers Appreciation night.

(August 16, 2009)

Evansville, IN – On a warm night in Southern Indiana, the Crushers pounded out 15 hits on the way to an 8-3 win over the Evansville Otters at Bosse Field on Sunday. The Crushers with the victory took two out of three over the Otters.

Gordon Gronkowski got the hit parade off to a good start in the first inning as he launched a two-run homer to left to put the Crushers up 2-0. Gronkowski has 17 homers on the year and has now driven in 69 runs. Evansville added single runs in the first and third as Frank Meade first brought home a run with a sacrifice fly, then later added a solo homer. With the score tied at two in the fourth, the Crushers would explode for three runs as Brad Griffiths drove in a pair with an RBI single, and Wayne Bond added an RBI double to put Lake Erie up by a 5-2 count.

The game would be put away in the sixth inning as the Crushers broke open a 5-3 ballgame with another three run burst. Bond again came up big for Lake Erie with a two-run single, and Tim Binkoski added an RBI single of his own. Bond had three hits on the night and every player who started for Lake Erie had at least one hit. “We did a nice job of situational hitting tonight,” said Crushers Manager John Massarelli. “We laid down bunts and moved guys over and that’s how you break games open.”

The run support was enough to give Cardoza Tucker his second consecutive victory, as the right-hander battled control problems to give his team five innings of work. He allowed three runs on three hits with five strikeouts and four walks. “He couldn’t get command on his fastball but battled and gave us a chance to win,” said Massarelli. Ronnie Morales and J.J. Pacella combined to throw four scoreless innings to finish out the win for the Crushers.

Lake Erie improves to 46-32 with the win and will enjoy Monday off. The Crushers will play at Southern Illinois starting on Tuesday night at 8:05 EDT. Paul Fagan will be on the mound for Lake Erie against Ryan Bird.

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.