The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lake Erie fails to make most of opportunities
Crushers can’t capitalize on chances against Washington
Lake Erie Crushers manager Cam Roth has been searching for answers to get his team out of a funk, and the June 20 performance against Washington at Sprenger Stadium will at least have him looking on the bright side.
The Crushers got off to a rough start, and wound up losing, 5-4, for their sixth straight loss.
In the bottom of the ninth and trailing, 5-4, Parker Norris drew a walk and Jordan Dean bunted him to second. But the Crushers went down in order after that.
They also had a golden opportunity in the eighth. With a runner on second and two outs, newly acquired center fielder L.J. Kalawai caught Washington off guard with a bunt toward first base, reaching safely. Catcher Brandon Oliver then walked to load the bases, but shortstop Max Casper stranded the runners.
The Crushers dropped to 1321 overall, and Washington improved to 18-15.
“Even when I come here and look at myself in the mirror and look at them, I told them that was a pretty good game,” Roth said. “It was a clean game throughout the whole thing and I thought our pitchers threw well. That’s a good
hitting lineup. I do think that’s something to build off of even though unfortunately we lost.”
Crushers starter Connor Reed went seven innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out seven. He gave up a first-inning grand slam to Washington’s Kane Sweeney, but settled in nicely to give Lake Erie a chance.
Lake Erie had eight hits, led by Norris’ two hits and an RBI. The Wild Things had nine hits.
Down, 4-2, in the bottom of the fifth, and after Brandon Oliver reached base, Norris brought him home on a bang-bang play at the plate for an RBI single. That was followed by a wild pitch from Washington starter Trevor Foss, scoring Norris to even things up.
Foss pitched seven innings for Washington and gave up six hits and two earned runs.
“I thought that was the best Reed’s looked all year,” Roth said. “I don’t care about the grand slam. Just as far as stuff-wise, and his command, that was his best. He gave up five earned but that was a tough five.”
With 34 games under their belt, Roth has a good idea of who can play and who can’t. And with the MLB draft behind them, acquisitions for the most part will also be behind them.
He’s hoping tonight’s performance can catapult the Crushers into a strong next five games on their homestand.
“It’s a big building block here today,” Roth added. “It was an eye-opener losing those five prior. But we have enough older guys in there that they know they need to step up and lead.”