Brawl Clears Benches at Crushers Game

The finished a short homestand completing a sweep of the Rockford RiverHawks with a 10-3 win in front of a sun-soaked crowd 2,867 at .

But not before a bench-clearing brawl interrupted the game. 

Tempers were as hot as the temperatures, as a melee, sparked by a collision at home plate earlier in the game, stopped the contest for several minutes in the bottom of the third inning.

Crushers third baseman Evan Sharpley and Rockford catcher Carlos Dominguez jawed at each other after Sharpley drew a walk, and then they got violent, prompting both benches to clear.

Several scuffles broke out and in the end, five players were ejected from the game.

Sharpley and Ruben Flores were tossed for the Crushers. For the RiverHawks, Dominguez, Joe Schumaci and Joey Gradney were ejected.

As the the temperature soared, Crushers staff supplied plenty of water for fans and provided some fun by soaking fans with squirt guns and tossing water balloons into the crowd.

Jodam Rivera and Brian Erie each drove in three runs for the Crushers (25-28). Paul Fagan pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits while striking out five, to improve to 4-7.

The Crushers open a three-game series at the Joliet Slammers on Thursday.