Lake Erie’s Furious Late Comeback Falls Just Short in Jersey

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Lake Erie’s Furious Late Comeback Falls Just Short in Jersey

Paterson, NJ - July 30, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers (29-40) fell into a deep hole in the middle innings, stormed back late, but ended up falling just short of a miraculous comeback against the New Jersey Jackals (38-29) in a 7-6 loss on Thursday night.

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The Jackals scored an unorthodox run on a wild pitch in the 2nd inning, but the Crushers got the trail runner trying for a second run to limit the damage to the single tally.

Lake Erie responded with an RBI bunt single by CF Garret Pike to tie the game 1-1. The Crushers had a threat to score more, but the former Crusher RHP Leonardo Rodriguez came in to escape the jam and keep the game square.

LHP Edwin Sanchez surrendered the lead on a solo home run to 3B Martin Figueroa in the 5th, then he walked the next two batters, which chased him from the ballgame. RHP Brandyn Sittinger came in to try and limit the damage, but 2B Alvaro Gonzalez popped him for a grand slam to open the game up. It was a 6-1 Jackals lead in a hurry.

New Jersey got another run off Sittinger in the 6th on an RBI double by 1B Felix Stevens, and it seemed like the Jackals would run away with an easy win.

However, the Crushers battled for an 8th inning run on an RBI single from RF James Jett, then they made some major noise at the plate in the 9th.

The former Jackal 2B Luis Acevedo launched a two-run homer to make it 7-4, and then a throwing error by RHP Billy Duby kept the inning alive for the Crushers. 1B Jacob Tobias hit an RBI double to make it 7-5 and bring the tying run to the plate in Pavin Parks.

The Jackals brought in their closer, RHP Andrew Peters, to try and get the last out of the game, and he thought he had in on a strikeout of Parks, but the ball went to the backstop and Parks reached on a dropped third strike (on the play, Tobias scored to make it 7-6).

Then up came James Jett representing the go-ahead run with the tying run on first base. Harkening back to his three run homer on Wednesday morning over the short right field at Hinchliffe Stadium, Jett sent a fly ball to right again, bidding for a go-ahead homer, but he just got under it. It was a game-ending flyout with the Crushers scoring five runs in the last two innings. They came up just short, 7-6.

The Crushers will head north to Sussex County to take on the Miners in the final series of their two-week road trip. Friday, July 31st’s game starts at 7pm ET. Catch every game of the road trip live on HomeTeam Network. Fun promotional nights are on tap when the Crushers come home, like Copa De La Diversion on August 7th, Star Wars Night on August 8th, and so many more! 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.