Crushers Walk All Over Slammers

The Slammers’ (31-24) pitching staff walked a season high 10 batters as they lost to the Lake Erie Crushers (26-29) by a final score of 5-4 Friday night.

Things started out well for Joliet as Josh Flores doubled to start the bottom of the first. Brad Netzel singled him home and the Slammers had an early 1-0 lead.

Ben Ferrell smacked his first professional home run to start the third inning and extend the lead to 2-0. Flores followed with a single and advanced to second when a pick-off attempt got away.

With Flores on third after a groundball out, Erik Lis blooped an infield single and it was 3-0 Slammers. After David Fox walked, Kyle Maunus singled to left to score Lis.

The 4-0 lead looked safe enough with Andrew Moss cruising through the first three innings. But he lost all concept of the strike zone in the fourth as he walked three straight batters with one away.

Kyle Shaffer made him pay with a two-RBI single to cut the Slammers’ lead to 4-2. Another walk meant the end of the day for Moss as Kevin Crimmel came in.

Crimmel got the Slammers out of the inning but not before another run scored on a fielder’s choice to make the score 4-3.

The lefty out of Villanova ran into trouble of his own in the fifth.

Andrew Davis reached on a Netzel throwing error that Maunus could not scoop. It was one of three errors in the game for Joliet. Kellen Kulbacki drew a walk and Jason Taylor doubled in Davis to tie the game. A Jodam Rivera RBI grounder put Lake Erie on top 5-4.

The score would stay that way as the Slammers’ offense could do nothing against the Lake Erie bullpen. Despite tallying 10 hits in the game to the Crushers’ five, the Slammers left six men on base and struck out eight times.

With the loss, the Slammers’ lead over Windy City in the East Division is cut to 1.5 games. Joliet will look to take the series against Lake Erie Saturday night as Tommy Mendoza (2-1, 3.93 ERA) takes the mound.