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Lake Erie Crushers
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Crushers Stunned by Late Homer in Fourth of July Doubleheader
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Zane Bloom, zbloom@lecrushers.com
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Crushers Stunned by Late Homer in Fourth of July Doubleheader
Avon, OH - July 4, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers (21-29) dropped both games of the July 4th doubleheader at ForeFront Field to the Windy City ThunderBolts (26-22), who used a very late homer in game two to stun the packed out crowd.
Continuation of Game 1 (Resumed in Bottom 4th)
The Crushers resumed their game from July 3rd in the bottom of the 4th with two runners on, two outs, and a 2-1 lead. LF Samuel Benjamin was unable to add to the lead any further, and the Bolts came up in the top of the 5th to start the day.
Two run-producing hits put the Bolts in the lead 3-2 immediately to start the continued game, and the Crushers bats were quiet in their frames. Windy City put across three more runs across the 7th and 8th innings against the Crushers bullpen to extend their lead to 6-2 going into the bottom of the 9th.
Lake Erie made it interesting like they did last Sunday in Mississippi. SS Jarrod Watkins, DH James Jett, and C Nick Chavez got on the board to start the inning, putting the tying run at the plate against Windy City closer Justin Lovell.
Samuel Benjamin plated a run, but he made an out in the process. RF Garret Pike also grounded out, producing a run, but the Bolts needed outs, and they had two with 3B Pavin Parks coming up.
Lovell was able to strike out Parks to end the game, and the tying run never made it off of home plate. Lake Erie dropped the resumed game 6-4 in the shortened, nine-inning affair.
Game 2 (7 Innings)
Lake Erie opened game two right off the jump with a hustle double from LF Sebastian Alexander. Alexander would score on an RBI single from Pavin Parks, and the Crushers immediately had a 1-0 lead.
RHP Bob Helt was on a leash from the get-go, but he was fantastic in his three innings of work. He struck out three batters and surrendered just a single hit in three scoreless frames.
LHP Wesley Culley got into some trouble in the 4th with the tying run on second, but he struck out 2B Josue Urdaneta, who had been tough to get out all day. That K ended the inning.
In the top of the 5th, RHP Christian Scafidi was in a jam of his own with the tying run on third with just one out. But he also dug his feet in, induced a ground ball to 1B Alfredo Gonzalez, who threw to SS Jarrod Watkins, then Scafidi covered first base to receive the double play, once again getting out of the inning unscathed.
LHP Branden Noriega pitched a 1-2-3 6th inning, and all the while the Crushers were hanging on to their 1-0 lead going into the final inning in the top of the 7th.
RHP Brandyn Sittinger gave up a one-out single, but struck out CF Michael Sandle to get within an out of a victory.
DH Justin Fogel came up, and he hadn’t been retired in three prior trips to the plate in game two. Sittinger had him in a 2-2 count with one strike to get, but Fogel put a good swing on a painted 94mph fastball and got enough carry on it to pop it just barely over the left field wall for a go-ahead two-run homer down his last strike.
Stunned, the Crushers got a leadoff walk from CF Joe Redfield in the bottom of the 7th. C Derek Vegas bunted him into scoring position with one out. However, RHP Zach Cameron struck out LF Sebastian Alexander, then he got Pavin Parks to fly into the final out of the game. A heartbreaker for the Crushers on America’s 250th Birthday.
Tomorrow, July 5th at 1pm, the Crushers become “Loros de la Costa Erie” in a full identity change for Copa de la Diversion - an MiLB initiative to honor Hispanic heritage! Special jerseys, hats, a new logo, and game production done in Spanish can be expected for a fantastic day of fun at ForeFront Field. To learn more about the identity change, visit lakeeriecrushers.com/news/loros. Tickets purchased through the following link will also benefit the Lorain County Hispanic Fund: https://www.gofevo.com/event/Hispanicclub2.
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.
