Crushers Rout Florence 11-2 as Watkins Sets Career Home Run Mark

The Lake Erie Crushers (32-47) dominated division foe Florence club (47-33) on Wednesday night, scoring 11 runs in the first four innings. Lake Erie pitching sealed the win, allowing just two runs all game. Fast Start Sets the Tone DH Joe Redfield got things going for Lake Erie in the first inning. The leadoff man doubled to open the game. He moved to third on his 34th steal of the season. He scored on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 1-0. Florence answered quickly. Milo Rushford scored on a single by Brett Blomquist in the bottom of the first to tie it at 1-1. Lefty Cobe Reeves battled through a long 28 pitch inning to limit the damage. That effort set up the Crushers offense to take the lead back. Watkins and Archer Power the Offense The tie did not last long. SS Jarrod Watkins and C Nick Chavez each singled with two outs and two strikes. CF Nathan Archer followed with his first home run as a Crusher, making it 4-1. It echoed a similar two out rally from Tuesday night that also featured a big hit from Archer. Lake Erie kept adding on in the third inning. 1B Chayton Krauss hit a sacrifice fly that nearly reached the warning track, scoring 2B Luis Acevedo. RF Chase Nixon added an RBI single off Florence starter Evan Webster. Watkins then blew the game open with a home run that drove in three runs. It was his seventh homer of the season and a career high for him at every level. The five run inning made it 9-1 Lake Erie. The Crushers were not finished. Two more runs scored in the fourth off Webster, pushing his line to 11 runs allowed. Every Lake Erie batter reached base by hit in the first four innings, capped by a one out single from Krauss. Pitching Closes It Out Reeves settled in after his rocky first inning. He induced three double plays over his final three innings before exiting in line for the win. His final line read five innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, two walks and two strikeouts on a season high 82 pitches. RHP Ben Petschke struck out four batters over two scoreless innings of relief. New addition RHP Alexander Castro allowed a Florence run in the eighth but struck out two in his one inning of work. RHP Jagger Duquette closed it out with a clean ninth inning, finishing the 11-2 win. Reeves earned his first win in a Crushers uniform. Webster took the loss for Florence, and his ERA climbed nearly a full point. What Comes Next The Crushers close out the series with Florence Thursday at 6:54 p.m. Every game of the road trip airs live on HomeTeam Network. Lake Erie returns home Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at LECrushers.com. Fans can learn about season ticket memberships at lecrushers.com or by calling 440 934 3636. Follow the team on Instagram, Facebook and X at @LECrushers.