AVON, OH – To start the final series of the season, the Joliet Slammers (42-58) came out rolling against the Lake Erie Crushers (40-59) as they nabbed the 13-6 victory on Friday.
The Slammers would get on the board to begin this game in the top of the 1st inning. Ian Battipaglia would get on base with a walk, steal second base, and drift over to third off a wild pitch. That would set up an RBI single for Patrick Ward to bring Battipaglia home, starting the game at 1-0 in favor of Joliet.
The Slammers wanted a lot more scores in the top of the 2nd, and that is exactly what they would get. Nico Bermeo and Brandon Heidal would both be walked to set up a 2-RBI double from Tyler Cerny. With Cerny on second base, Ward would deliver his second RBI single of the day to bring his teammate home. Ward would be rewarded for his hard work by scoring alongside Jackson Valera as he smoked a ball out to left field for a 2-run homer. That moved the score farther to Joliet’s side at 6-0.
The Crushers would bring their first score around in the bottom of the 4th inning. Pavin Parks and Luis Acevedo would both knock down singles to get on base. That allowed a single from Jarrod Watkins to be enough to score Parks, shifting the score to 6-1.
The Slammers did not appreciate Lake Erie breaking the shutout, so they made them pay in the top of the 5th. Peyton Carr and Bermeo would both be walked to open up this half-inning. That set up a 2-RBI double from Heidal to score both runners, and Battipaglia would be walked to follow. Joliet then found themselves laying down three scoring hits in a row: An RBI double from Cerny to score Bermeo, an RBI single from Ward to score Battipaglia, and a 3-run shot from Valera that scored Cerny and Ward. After going through 11 batters, the Slammers had scored seven runs to heavily advance the score to 13-1.
The Crushers didn’t give up hope in the bottom of the 8th inning as three straight batters would get on base. Chase Nixon would get a single, Parks would be walked and Brayden Jobert would be hit by a pitch to get the bases loaded. Lake Erie wouldn’t miss this opportunity to get some scores on the board as Watkins produced a grand slam before the half-inning closed. The score now read 13-5 as the game was reaching its end.
The Crushers had one final bit of life in the bottom of the 9th. Jacob Connery would start it off with a single, and a few plays pushed him to third base. That is where he would score from when Nixon popped up an RBI sacrifice fly out, adding a final run to the tally. The Slammers would close up the game shortly after, taking the first win in this series 13-6.
After displaying one of their best offensive performances of the season, Joliet will eye the series win Saturday against Lake Erie. After a small comeback fell short in this one, the Crushers will look to start Saturday’s match stronger against the Slammers.
By: Braeden Jones
