Crushers lose finale, finish with worst record in team history

Host Gateway scored four runs in the sixth inning to break a tie game and beat the Crushers, 8-4, on Sept. 3 in the season finale.

The loss dropped Lake Erie to 37-59, the worst record in franchise history. The Crushers were founded in 2009.

The Crushers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Jiandido Tromp and a run-scoring groundout by Josh Rego.

The Grizzlies hit a three-run home run in the third inning and a solo blast in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Sean Cheely hit a two-run double for the Crushers to tie the game at 4-4. Gateway retook the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth, scoring one run on an error and hitting another three-run homer.

The Crushers finished last in the Frontier League West, 22 games behind the first-place Grizzlies. Their previous low win total was 38 in 2015.

After making the playoffs in four of their first six seasons of existence, the Crushers have only advanced to the postseason once in the last eight seasons.