All the Crushers needed was the bats to come alive at the right time.
On June 30, in a first of a three-game series against the New York Boulders, shortstop Jarrod Watkins set the series tone with a walk-off single for a Crushers’ 4-3 win.
“I tried to get a pitch over the plate,” Watkins said. “(Ryan Munoz) kept throwing the curveball. I was sitting on the fastball. He has a knuckleball too. I was trying to get a pitch up. Thankfully, he pitched right over the plate and I smacked it.”
Watkins started the game off without a hit in four at-bats, but it was the one hit that sealed the deal for them.
The pitching staff was crucial all night. Starting pitcher Yasel Santana went 6 2/3 innings, allowed for five hits, three earned runs and struck out five batters. The Crushers allowed one run in six innings.
“(The pitching staff) have been doing that all year. We have been playing in a lot of close ball games. These guys are getting tested. So far, they are answering the call and I am really happy for them,” said Crushers manager Jared Lemieux.
Crushers’ relief pitcher Darrion Ragin pitched at critical ninth inning to secure his second win on the season.
New York second baseman Gabriel Garcia hit a double in the ninth, advanced to third on a wild pitch, with one out. However, Ragin and the defense retired the next two batters to end the inning scoreless and put the Crushers in a position to win the game.
“This pitching staff is really good. I am confident every time we go out there. They throw pitches the same every game. It’s a quality start Darrion (Ragin) comes in (relief). That’s what they do,” Watkins said.
Crushers designated hitter Jack Harris recorded two hits, as the second hitter. Batting ahead of Watkins, Harris beat out a potential double-play with one out, which saved the inning to set up Watkins’ magic moment.
New York put the first run on the board from Giovanni Garbella’s solo homer in the fifth. Harris responded in the bottom of the sixth from a solo homer of his own to tie the score, 1-1.
The Crushers totaled one hit until the sixth inning. They closed it out, with seven in the final four innings.
“We just didn’t give up,” Lemieux said. “It is easy to get down after you have been out a few times. These guys tested their fortitude. They continued to compete and not get frustrated. We are getting better at holding our cool and it’s is paying off at the end of games.”
After the Crushers lost seven of their previous eight games, they improved to 18-25, as the Boulders dropped to 23-18. The team play again July 1.
“This (momentum) is everything. We are just young,” said Watkins. “I don’t want to say that we are inexperienced, but this is a young team with a lot of college guys. This was a really big win for us.”
