Frontier 
Lake Erie Crushers
ForeFront Field
Crushers Welcome in Second Half with 6-4 Win over Gateway
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Zane Bloom, zbloom@lecrushers.com
910-777-3871
Crushers Welcome in Second Half with 6-4 Win over Gateway
Avon, OH - July 17, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers (26-32) defeated the Gateway Grizzlies (26-31) 6-4 at ForeFront Field to kick off the second half. The Grapes took the lead early, and refused to give it up.
Lake Erie got on the board in the 1st inning, as they loaded the bases. In his first professional at-bat DH Chayton Krauss broke his bat on an infield chopper, which allowed RF James Jett to score on the groundout.
With two outs in the 3rd, Lake Erie took advantage of pitching mistakes from Grizzlies starter Andrew Ronne loading the bases with a walk and hit-by-pitch. 2B Luis Acevedo singled to score a pair of runs, before SS Jarod Watkins doubled to drive in the third run of the inning. LF Samuel Benjamin tacked on one more run scoring Acevedo with a single, putting Lake Erie up 5-0.
The scoring would not stop in the 4th for Lake Erie. With Jett on, 1B Jacob Tobias blooped a single into left field. The speedy Jett advanced to third on the batted ball, but he would score when the throw into the infield hit Tobias. A wonky play allowed Lake Erie to open up a 6-0 lead over the Grizzlies.
Gateway answered back in the 5th as they loaded the bases, ultimately scoring 3 runs on a misjudged ball over the infield. That was the end of the road for Crushers starter Fraynel Nova who performed well. His final statline: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
The Grizzlies clawed closer in the 6th as a lead-off home run by Jose Cordoba cut the lead to just two runs, 6-4.
In the 7th and 8th innings, RHP Christian Scafidi got clutch strikeouts to end each inning with runners in scoring position. Then, closer RHP Brandyn Sittinger came in the game and slammed the door with a strikeout of the last Grizzlies batter in a 1-2-3 frame.
Fraynel Nova (2-8) was very solid in a much-needed winning effort. Grizzlies Andrew Ronne was tagged with the loss. Brandyn Sittinger secured a dominant save to give the Crushers their fourth win in their last five games.
Come along for the ride and cheer on your Crushers at ForeFront Field! Tomorrow night is Cleveland Monsters Night with goal horns, goal songs, and specialty Monsters jerseys that are up for auction now! Fans interested in bidding on the game-worn jerseys can click below and make your bid for the sweet threads!
Get your tickets to this weekend 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.
