After back-to-back strong defensive games to close the Quebec series, the Crushers imploded in an 11-8 home defeat to the Empire State Greys on May 16.
Lake Erie (2-2) hit the ball well with 14 hits, but a 6-3 lead was blown after a six-run sixth inning from the Greys (2-2).
“You try and a hold a lead, and we weren’t able to do that,” Crushers manager Jared Lemieux said. “That’s the nature of baseball. You also have to tip your cap to the other team.”
Empire State started the game off with a 2-0 lead with an RBI single from Christopher Cespedes, and he later scored on an error. Santiago Chirino got a run back for the Crushers with an RBI single of his own to score Kenen Irizarry.
The Crushers started to crush the baseball and were hitting off Empire State starter Alejandro Arteaga. They scored three runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead, 4-2. After hits from John Tuccillo and Sean Lawlor, Ellison Hanna II hit an RBI double off of the top of the wall to score a run. Sean Cheely followed it up with the fourth straight hit for Lake Erie, a two-RBI double.
Leading, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the fourth, Irizarry connected on a two-run homer to right field to extend the lead in his first game back off of the injured list. After a long first inning, Crushers starter Yasel Santana rallied and had a strong next three innings before his day was done. Perry Bewley came in for the fifth inning, and he retired the first three batters.
Bewley only pitched in the fifth inning, and the game flipped in the sixth. Gabriel Tapia and Brayden Bonner each gave up three runs to the Grays. After a leadoff strikeout, the next three batters reached. Eric Callahan drove in JR DiSarcina on an RBI single, and Bonner came in to replace Tapia.
Bonner walked the first two batters, including a hit-by-pitch to score a run with the bases loaded. On the next at-bat, Cespedes hit a bases clearing three-RBI double to make the score, 8-6, in favor of the Greys. Steven Barmakian later scored Cespedes on an RBI single for the inning’s sixth run.
“It’s early the season, and we’re trying to figure out what roles guys have,” Lemieux said. “These guys are working hard, and today was a tough day. It’s a teaching moment for us today, and it’s a chance for us to show our grit.”
Trailing by three, Lake Erie’s bats also went quiet. The Crushers were held scoreless in the fifth through eighth innings, and Empire State put two more runs up in the ninth to extend the lead to five.
The Crushers kept fighting, and Sam Frontino hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to make it a little closer. Cheely drew a walk to load the bases once again, and Irizarry came up to the plate representing the game-winning run. However, he popped out to second base to end it.
“We want to keep the bats rolling,” Lemieux said. “We have Matt Mulhearn on the mound tomorrow, and we’re going to try to get a win for him.”
