Slammers’ big third inning dooms Crushers in loss

One inning was all it took for Joliet to impose its will on a Lake Erie team that is clinging to its playoff life.

The first-place Slammers (4734) knocked around Crushers (4239) starting pitcher Justin Sinibaldi with a four-run third inning. That one-inning haymaker proved to be enough as they cruised to a 5-1 victory in front of 2,000 fans at Sprenger Stadium on Aug. 16.

The loss completes a threegame sweep of the Crushers.

Lake Erie, who fell a half-game behind the Southern Illinois Miners for the fourth and final playoff spot, continue to ride a roller coaster as the regular season dwindles.

“Yes, it’s very frustrating,” Lake Erie manager Cam Roth said. “I’m not really looking at the scoreboard to much. We are just trying to get through some baseball games. We are just trying to play good baseball and we are just trying to pay attention to the little things and do the little things right.”

Sinibaldi (1-4) looked sharp in the first two innings, but ran into a brisk buzz saw in the third. He was shelled for four runs, including two-out RBIs from former Crusher L.J. Kalawaia and Joliet cleanup hitter, Danny Zardon. Chaz Meadows poured salt on the wound with a tworun double to push the lead to 4-0 for the Slammers.

Sinibaldi also allowed three walks in the third.

The bad inning was unfortunate, but something Roth knows sometimes is unavoidable.

“Yeah, it was just trying to eliminate the big inning,” Roth said. “That’s just something we haven’t done very well. Sinibaldi has had five or six starts. He is still learning and it’s something that we have to get better at if we are going to be successful.”

Sinibaldi went five innings, allowing four runs off eight hits while walking five and striking out six.

The Crushers tried to break through in the bottom of the sixth as they tallied a pair of base runners. Eventually, a routine pop up turned into an error on Joliet, allowing Dane Hutcheon to score, cutting the lead to 4-1.

Joliet responded with a run in the top of the seventh via a balk from reliever Kent Hasler.

Two innings prior, Lake Erie mustered runners on first and second with two outs, but could not come through as Nick Roark struck out.