Despite the Joliet Slammers going up, 3-0, in the first inning and posting a perfect game through six, the Lake Erie Crushers had a chance at the end.
However, the Crushers’ bats were quiet for too long in the 3-1 home defeat to the Slammers on June 23.
It took three batters for Angelo Baez to settle in, and he did just that by not giving up anymore runs. However, three batters were all Joliet needed to take the lead for good. Matt Feinstein and Liam McArthur led the game off with singles, and Matthew Warkentin smashed a three-run homer into left field.
“That guy took a good swing on one, and it ended up being enough,” Crushers manager Jared Lemieux said. “(Angelo) settled in after, and he actually did very well from that pitch on. He’s been doing that all year, the offense needed to help him out tonight, but their guy was able to keep us at bay all night long.”
As good as Baez pitched for the next seven innings, Joliet pitcher Ricky Castro threw a gem. He didn't allow a Lake Erie base runner through the first six innings, and it took a first pitch bunt from Todd Isaacs Jr. in the seventh to put up the Crushers' first hit. The next three batters were retired before the Crushers could do anymore damage.
In the eighth inning, however, Lake Erie was able to get some offense going with a solo home run from Gabe Snyder. From a bunt to a home run, the team got its first two hits on two completely different plays. Jiandido Tromp hit a single on the next at-bat, but the Slammers shut down the Crushers' bats for the rest of the inning.
There weren't many runs scored in this game, but there was a lot of action. There was an ejection, a check for an illegal substance on Castro during his masterful performance, and some chirping back-and-forth between the two clubs. The craziness was capped off in the bottom of the ninth with consecutive strikeouts from Isaacs Jr. and Jarrod Watkins swinging at a pitch they were hit by.
"There were some things that I haven't seen before," Lemieux said. "(Joliet reliever Jared Liebelt) was throwing some funny pitches up there, he fooled my hitters and (the pitches) hit the batters. I've never seen it done twice in a row, but it did. That's why you come to the ball park and why fans should keep coming back. You never know what you're going to see."
After the two strange strikeouts, Kemuel Thomas-Rivera hit a double to keep the game alive. With only four hits on the night after the double, the Crushers were somehow right there with Jack Harris coming up to represent the tying run. The bats got hot a little too late as he popped out to end the short lived rally.
"Baseball has no clock. You can play all night if you keep hitting the ball," Lemieux said. "Your chances are going to be there, it might be there in the beginning, it might be there in the middle or the end. We had an opportunity, and they were able to finish us off tonight."
The Crushers (16-21) host the Slammers (17-20) in the second game of the series at 6:05 p.m. June 24.
