By: Braeden Jones
JOLIET, IL – After a tied ballgame went to the 10th inning, the Lake Erie Crushers were able to knock in a few runs to beat the Joliet Slammers 6-5 on Wednesday.
After a few quiet innings for both teams, the Slammers (3-8) struck first with a single by Ian Battipaglia and a walk from Cam Suto to set up a 2-RBI single for Jackson Valera to end the bottom of the 3rd inning with a 2-0 lead.
The Crushers (6-5) responded by running through all nine batters in their lineup in the top of the 4th. A double and a single paved the way for Samuel Benjamin to hit a three-run homer. Jacob Tobias was able to score Garret Pike later in the inning with an RBI single, ending the top of the 4th inning with a 4-2 lead for Lake Erie.
That lead held for a few innings before Valera hit another 2-RBI single for Joliet in the bottom of the 6th inning, scoring Battipaglia once again along with Liam McArthur. The Slammers were not able to score the rest of the inning, so the score now remained tied at 4-4 after six innings.
Joliet had some opportunities to end this game without needing extra innings, but the Crushers were able to leave the Slammers scoreless after the bases were loaded in both the bottom of the 8th and 9th inning, leaving the score at 4-4 and forcing a 10th inning.
Lake Erie made it count when it mattered most, as two straight RBI singles by Joe Redfield and Luis Acevedo gave the Crushers the 6-4 lead to end the top of the 10th inning.
With their backs against the wall, the Slammers watched as Suto hit an RBI single to score McArthur with just one out in the bottom of the 10th inning. Valera hit his third single of the day to advance Suto to third right after, but third was as far as he would make it as two more outs were forced to end the game at 6-5 in favor of the Crushers.
After a crushing defeat in extra innings, the Slammers look to end the three-game home series against Lake Erie on Thursday with a win. The Crushers aim to sweep the first away series they have played all year at Slammers Stadium on Thursday.
