Lemieux’s Boys Play Great Baseball, Take Down Otters 8-3

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Lemieux’s Boys Play Great Baseball, Take Down Otters 8-3

Evansville, IN - August 29, 2026 - The Lake Erie Crushers (39-55) scored early and late on Saturday night at Bosse Field. They defeated the Evansville Otters (58-37) 8-3 and knocked them down a peg in their search to take the Central Division lead.

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In the top of the 1st, 2B Pavin Parks worked a two-out walk. 1B Brayden Jobert doubled into right field, The throw in from right field was lazy from Sam Linscott, and it missed both cutoff men and trickled behind the mound, allowing Parks to score all the way from first base. Then, 3B Chayton Krauss dug in and grounded one just by the glove of SS T.J Salvaggio to plate Jobert as the Crushers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.

In the 2nd, RF Jeron Williams hit a two-RBI single into center field. On the play, CF Jon Ponder lazily threw the baseball towards the infield, which allowed Redfield to score from second uncontested and make it 4-0 Lake Erie. 

LHP Jack Eisenbarger was working much more efficiently in his third Lake Erie start. After three scoreless innings, DH Chris Kwitzer finally got to Eisenbarger with a two-run homer to make it 4-2. Eisenbarger gave up two singles afterwards, warranting a mound visit from pitching coach Brandyn Sittinger. The talk worked as Eisenbarger struck out the final two batters of the inning to keep the score 4-2.

Lake Erie LHP Jack Eisenbarger’s only blemish came on the homer, and he ended the night with a very solid start with a final line of 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K on 111 pitches.

The Otters got within a run in the 6th on an RBI single from 2B Amani Larry to make it 4-3. RHP Drew Buhr, after another timely mound visit, was able to buckle down and induce two flyouts to end the inning with the Crushers still ahead.

While the Crushers’ bats had gone quiet since the 2nd, they got back on the board with more two-out success on a Jobert broken-bat single to make it 5-3 in the 7th. All five Lake Erie runs to that point had come with two outs, giving Evansville a taste of their own medicine they’d been serving up to opposing teams all season.

LHP Wesley Culley and RHP Alexander Castro tossed scoreless relief innings to get to the 9th. The Crushers got some big insurance in the inning thanks to three straight hits from the top of the lineup. 2B Pavin Parks doubled in a run to complete all nine Crushers starters having a hit in the contest. A Jobert sacrifice fly and another Krauss RBI single put home three runs against tough reliever RHP Alex Valdez, and Lake Erie handed a five-run lead to their closer.

In a non-save situation, RHP Brandyn Sittinger finished off the Otters despite giving up a pair of leadoff singles. He struck out the final two batters with a flourish to secure the 8-3 win and set up the rubbermatch tomorrow.

Jack Eisenbarger (4-6) earns his well-deserved 20th win in a Crushers uniform, putting him tied for third all-time with Josh Roberts (‘10-’11) for most in Crushers history. Joan Gonzalez (0-1) was tagged with the loss in his first meetup with Lake Erie in 2026.

The Crushers finish the season series with the Otters tomorrow, August 30th at 1:35pm ET. Catch all the action on the final road trip of the season on HomeTeam Network! The team returns to Avon for BOGO Fan Finale Weekend on September 4th. Go to LakeErieCrushers.com/BOGO to get your tickets and find out all about the huge promotional weekend to finish off the 2026 season!

Crushers 2027 season tickets are now on sale! For information on 2027 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.