Crushers Blow Up Y’alls in 11-2 Beatdown, Watkins Hits Career High in Homers

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Crushers Blow Up Y’alls in 11-2 Beatdown, Watkins Hits Career High in Homers

Florence, KY - August 12, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers (32-47) dominate division foe Florence Y’alls (47-33) scoring 11 runs in the first four innings. Lake Erie pitching ensured the victory, surrendering just two runs all night. 

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In the 1st DH Joe Redfield got things started for the Grapes. The Lake Erie leadoff man doubled to start the game, moved to third base on his 34th steal of the season, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 1-0.

Florence wasted no time leveling the score as Milo Rushford scored on a single by Brett Blomquist in the home half of the 1st. Despite the impending threat to score more, LHP Cobe Reeves battled through a lengthy 28-pitch inning to keep the damage at just a single run, and he set up the Crushers bats to get the run back.

And boy did they ever. The 1-1 deadlock lasted for mere moments as the Crushers got back-to-back two-out, two-strike singles from SS Jarrod Watkins and C Nick Chavez before CF Nathan Archer blasted his first Crushers homer to make it 4-1 Lake Erie. It was a deja vu moment from Tuesday night with the two-out hitting and the big blow from Archer.

Up 4-1, the Crushers would continue their scoring in the 3rd inning. 1B Chayton Krauss launched a sacrifice fly almost to the warning track in center field to score 2B Luis Acevedo for the fifth Lake Erie run. The Grapes continued to smoke the baseball off Florence starter Evan Webster as RF Chase Nixon slapped another RBI single. SS Jarrod Watkins blew the game wide open with another three-run shot to cap off the five-run inning. Watkins’ seventh home run of the season, a career high for him at every level, made the score 9-1 in favor of the Crushers. 

Lake Erie kept the pressure on Webster in the 4th, scoring two more to make it an ugly 11 runs on his line. Importantly, all of the Crushers batters reached base via a hit in just four innings of work as Krauss finished off that trend with his one-out single.

Cobe Reeves was excellent after his rocky first inning. He induced three double plays in his final three innings to exit in line for the win. His final line: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K on a season-high 82 pitches.

RHP Ben Petschke struck out four batters in two innings of scoreless relief, and while new acquisition RHP Alexander Castro surrendered a Florence run in the 8th, he struck out two batters in his one inning of work.

RHP Jagger Duquette finished off the Y’alls with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th on the way to an 11-2 Crushers win on Wednesday night.

LHP Cobe Reeves got his first win in a Crushers uniform in the victory. Florence’s starter Evan Webster added to his loss column with his ERA jumping nearly a full point. 

The Crushers finish the series with Florence tomorrow at 6:54pm ET. Catch every game of the road trip live on HomeTeam Network! The Crushers return home on August 18th at 6:30pm. Tickets are available at LECrushers.com.

For information on season ticket memberships visit lecrushers.com or call (440) 934-3636, and be sure to follow our socials @LECrushers on Instagram/Facebook/X.

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About the Lake Erie Crushers

The Lake Erie Crushers are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio, just 18 miles west of Cleveland at ForeFront Field. They compete in the Frontier League, a proud MLB Partner League, and have brought a family-friendly, fan-oriented baseball experience to Northeast Ohio since 2009. As Lorain County’s only professional sports franchise, the Lake Erie Crushers are the largest economic driver in Lorain County, hosting more than 200 events per year that include over 50 baseball games, concerts, charity functions, and other events that bring the community of Avon together. Len Komoroski is the Crushers Chairman and Managing Partner, and the team is led by President Vic Gregovits. Jared Lemieux, a Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, is in his fourth season as field manager.