After a dramatic walkoff win last week to break a 10-game losing streak, the Lake Erie Crushers have been playing much better baseball.
Hector Roa’s two-RBI double in the bottom of the first gave the Crushers (32-47) the lead for good in a 3-1 win over the Schaumburg Boomers (45-33) on Aug. 15. This was their fifth win in the past seven games starting with that wild win over Washington last week.
“The boys are playing good ball. I’m just happy to see it,” Crushers manager Jared Lemieux said. “They deserve it. They’ve earned the ability to play good ball with their work ethic. It’s nice to see them perform well.”
The first two Crusher batters, Jiandido Tromp and Zach Racusin, were retired to start the bottom of the first inning. Scout Knotts was hit in the hand on the next at-bat by Boomers pitcher Jackson Hickert, and that started the two-out rally. Josh Rego hit a single next to put two runners on, and Roa did the rest by beating the right fielder for a two-RBI double to the wall.
“It’s very important to jump out in the first inning and set the tone,” Roa said. “It feels good putting the ball on the barrel and just letting the ball do its job. I’m just trying to do my part as a veteran for this team and score runs for them.”
Other than Roa’s hit, it was a quiet game. Both teams left a couple of runners in scoring position, but it was very solid pitching. Matt Mulhearn took the mound for Lake Erie and pitched an excellent outing of seven scoreless innings. He took advantage of Roa’s hit in the first.
Mulhearn only gave up four hits, and he struck out six Boomers. Schaumburg had runners on the corners in the third inning, but he struck out Alec Craig and forced Travis Holt to pop out to second base.
“He commanded all of his pitches well today. He stayed ahead in the count most of the time,” Lemieux said of Mulhearn. “He avoided making mistakes over the middle of the plate, and he’s tough to hit when he does that.”
In the sixth inning, the Crushers were able to produce their third run to give the pitching staff more breathing room. Roa delivered again with another double and wound up scoring the run. An RBI single from Kenen Irizarry with two outs got him home. Overall for the game, Roa finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI.
“Hector’s been great since he showed up. He’s brought some energy to this team, and that’s good to see,” Lemieux said.
After Mulhearn’s night was done, Darren Ragins and Sam Curtis finished the game. Ragins pitched the eighth while Curtis got the save in the ninth. Schaumburg made it interesting for a little bit, however, as a solo home run from Gaige Howard got his team on the board. Blake Berry followed it up with a single to put the tying run at the plate. However, Curtis stepped up and got the job done. Kokko Figueiredo and Zach Huffins both flew out to end the game.
The Crushers and Boomers will be back at Mercy Health Stadium to do it again for the next two nights. First pitch for the next game is at 7:05 p.m. Aug. 16.
