Lake Erie Crushers Top Evansville, 5-1, Behind Sanchez

The Lake Erie Crushers earned a 5-1 victory over the Evansville Otters on June 18 at ForeFront Field, with right-hander Edwin Sanchez picking up the win to improve to 2-1 on the season with a 3.20 ERA. Offense Finds Its Groove Lake Erie plated three runs in the fourth inning to break the game open. The Crushers added two more in the sixth, while holding Evansville to a single run in the top of the sixth. Alfredo Gonzalez went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in a run, finishing with a slugging percentage of .443 on the night. Jarrod Watkins contributed a hit from the shortstop position, and Pavin Parks added a hit of his own from second base. The Crushers finished with nine hits to Evansville’s three, capitalizing on two Otters errors to keep the pressure on throughout the game. On the Mound Sanchez delivered a quality outing. Landon Willeman took the loss for Evansville, falling to 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA. The game was played in one hour and 40 minutes before an attendance of 1,988 fans. Home plate umpire Jalen Jarvis oversaw the contest.