The Lake Erie Crushers might either want to start playing 11:05 a.m. home games every day, or hosting the Evansville Otters every day. Both seem to be working.
The team played two morning home games to start the week against Evansville, and came away with 6-4 and 13-8 victories in the first two games of the series. The three-game series was set to conclude with a night game July 27. Regardless of what happens, Lake Erie has Evansville’s number at Mercy Health Stadium this season.
The first two wins put the Crushers at 5-0 against the Otters at home. A win in the series finale would capture the sweep and a perfect 6-0 record in the teams’ final matchup of 2023. There’s only a handful of games that early in the day, but Lake Erie stayed locked in for the pair of games despite the different start and warm temperatures.
“It is (a tough adjustment) because we’re so used to playing at night,” Crushers manager Jared Lemieux said. “It can shock you, and these were two hot games and the boys fought against the elements there. They grinded out a nice win (July 26).”
In the 13-8 victory on July 26, the Crushers put up their second-highest run total of the year. The bats have been cold in long stretches of the season, but they look to be rounding into form as the season is closing in on its final month.
Before the series finale July 27, Lake Erie (27-35) was in a three-way tie for fourth place in the West Division with the Joliet Slammers and Washington Wild Things. The Windy City Thunderbolts and Florence Y’alls are at most one game back of all three teams, so it’s a close race for fourth.
However, only three teams per division make the Frontier League postseason. As much success as the Crushers have had against Evansville this season, the Otters have a commanding lead for the third and final playoff spot in the West Division by 7 1/2 games.
In two days, the Crushers gained ground with the two wins. A third one in a row to close the series would put them 6 1/2 games back heading into a weekend series with the Tri-City Valleycats. The two big victories have the team feeling confident.
“I think it’s just a group thing, the chemistry,” Kemuel Thomas-Rivera said. “That’s what’s been helping us out to keep going. It’s a lot of fun, nothing better than (winning a couple games in a row) that’s for sure.”
Lake Erie lost its first three series coming out of the All-Star break, but won three of its last four games entering July 27. Despite losing a road series to the Otters last week, the Crushers scored their highest run total of 14 in their lone win. The bats are improving, and if they can match what has been a solid defensive product for the majority of the season, the Crushers could have what it takes to sneak in the back door for a playoff spot.
The 2022 Crushers made a huge run late in the season. Time will tell if this year’s team has a run in store for them.
“Baseball’s the type of game that if you let off the gas at all, things can change in a heartbeat,” Lemieux said. “We have to keep our foot on the pedal and working hard and keep putting up good at-bats.”
