Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Outdone in extras

Print Email RSS Share

Outdone in extras

Crushers lose lead, then game

Box Link: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=41344

WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Lake Erie Crushers had a 4-1 lead through six innings of Tuesday morning’s contest at Consol Energy Park, but the Washington Wild Things scored four unanswered runs, as they avoided the three game sweep with a 5-4 win in 11 innings.

For the Crushers, (28-31) the loss ruined what would have been their fourth sweep of the season, while the win for Washington (26-32) was their fourth in their last six games.  

Lake Erie took control early on by scoring twice in the first inning.  Jereme Milons stroked a one out single, and scored moments later on Andrew Davis’s third double of the series.  Jason Taylor drove in the final run of the inning on a two out base hit.  The Crushers added another run in the second inning.  Jodam Rivera started the inning with a double, and came home on Chris Luick’s first of two RBI singles on the day.

The Wild Things plated their first run in the bottom of the second, on a solo homerun from Estee Harris.  The homerun was the first of three solo shots from the Wild Things on the afternoon. 

The Crushers plated their final run in the top of the sixth inning.  Evan Sharpley smashed a triple to begin the inning, and scored moments later on Luick’s second RBI single.  The Crushers were kept off the board the rest of the way, and left seven on base through the remainder of the contest.

Washington began their comeback in the seventh inning.  Eric Stephens drove in their lone run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, and Kevyn Feiner hit a solo homerun to pull the Wild Things within a run in the bottom of the eighth. 

In the ninth, Scott Lawson walked, moved to second on Luis Rivera’s sacrifice bunt, and made his way to third on a single from Harris before scoring the tying run on Stephens’s groundout. 

The Wild Things had a chance to win it in the tenth inning.  They had the bases loaded with one out, when Lawson bounced into a double play.  In the eleventh, Tim Battle belted a solo homerun off of Robert Wendzicki (0-2) to win the game.

The solo homer was the lone run Wendzicki surrendered in his first outing since July 5.  He allowed a run on three hits over an inning and a third while suffering the loss.  Thomas Campbell once again turned in a terrific start for the Crushers, allowing just a run on four hits with four strikeouts over five innings.  Mark Williams (1-1) tossed a scoreless eleventh inning to get the win.

The Lake Erie offense delivered 12 more hits, giving them 36 against the Wild Things over the course of the three game series.   Davis, Luick, and Brian Erie all hit safely twice to pace the Crushers.  Davis has now reached in 30 consecutive games, and has 37 hits in July.   Luick went 2-for-3, reaching four times in five plate appearances with a pair of walks to go along with his two RBI singles.  Milons’s single in the first inning extended his on base streak to 12 games.

The Crushers will begin a three game series against the Joliet Slammers at All Pro Freight Stadium on Wednesday night. Right Hander Josh Roberts (6-3, 3.59) will start for the Crushers, and the Slammers will counter with right hander Andrew Moss (2-3, 4.20).The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

by Andy Barch