The adjustment as a new addition on a team can sometimes be a tough task.
The Lake Erie Crushers welcomed Gabe Snyder with open arms. On June 8 against the Sussex County Miners, the first baseman delivered in the seventh inning, with the go-ahead home run in a 4-3 win.
“(Sussex County pitcher Jose Ledesma) threw a fastball in there and I was trying to see what it was like. I told myself that he would give me another one to hit. He threw a hanging change-up and I was able to get my bat on it and blast it out of here.”
The Crushers left eight on base prior to Snyder’s home run. Coach Jared Lemieux thought the new guy stepped up to the occasion.
“Gabe (Snyder) has been working really hard and the guys have welcomed him in with open arms,” Lemieux said. “It was nice for him to do that, take a big swing for us to put us ahead. It is a testament to his resolve and his grind that he’s putting in here. Having to change teams is not easy. For him to come through in the clutch like that is a big moment.”
PHOTOS: Crushers vs. Sussex County, June 8, 2023
The sequence was made possible from a clutch outing from relief pitcher Darrien Ragins. He escaped the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back strikeouts, while the bases were loaded, The performance gave the Crushers momentum to head into the bottom of the inning.
The Crushers trailed, 2-0, to start their first inning behind the plate and responded with a 3-2 lead.
Snyder batted in a run with a single and scored a run himself on a double-steal with teammate Jiandido Tromp.
"(Sussex County) came out strong with a big (first) inning. It was great to see us respond that way (in the bottom of the first) and do the same thing," Snyder said. "From there on, we kind of battled. There were a lot of zeros on the board, with good defense and some hard hits weren't going through; we were able to get one toward the end. That was good to see."
The defense improved after the first inning to shut the Miners out for the rest of the night. The bullpen that consisted of Perry Bewley, Thomas Bruss, Ragins, Trevor Kuncl and Alexis Rivero gave up four hits and two walk over five shutout innings.
"The bullpen has done a great job this year. Today they continue to do so," Lemieux said. "We used quite a few arms there. ... Everybody came in and did their job. I am really happy with their performance."
The game was in-hand, but not over. The Crushers closed it out from a double-play in the top of the ninth to seal the win.
The Crushers closed the series with Sussex County with an 11-13 record, as the Miners dropped to 14-8. Their next game will be against the Windy City Thunderbolts on June 9.
