BYRD'S TWO HOMERS CARRY CRUSHERS TO WEST DIVISION SERIES
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
SAUGET, IL - In an instant classic, the Lake Erie Crushers took down the Gateway Grizzlies 10-8 in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday to advance to the Division Series.
Grizzlies Ballpark fell silent in the top of the ninth inning as designated hitter Vincent Byrd Jr. trotted around the bases on a three-run homer that gave Lake Erie the win over the Grizzlies. The Crushers took an unorthodox path to their first postseason victory since 2013, grabbing a 2-0 in the top of the first inning on a two-run blast by Byrd.
Gateway quickly caught up in the bottom of the first, notching their first run as a result of a double play. Designated hitter Kevin Krause then tied the game at 2-2 on an RBI double.
Right-hander Deylen Miley and left-hander Darrien Ragins then traded scoreless frames through the fifth inning. Third baseman Logan Thomason then broke things up with a go-ahead solo shot with two outs in the fifth to put Lake Erie back out in front at 3-2.
The momentum shifted back to the Grizzlies in the sixth, beginning with back-to-back hits to put runners on the corners and force Ragins from the game. Third baseman DJ Stewart greeted the newly-entered Christian Scafidi discourtesly, tying the game with an RBI single. Krause picked up his second RBI of the day after with a sacrifice fly to give Gateway a 4-3 lead. Scafidi continued to struggle, walking the next two batters to load the bases for catcher Jose Alvarez. The Gateway backstop capitalized on the bases-loaded opportunity in a huge way, crushing a grand slam over the wall in right to balloon the Grizzlies' lead to 8-3.
Where most teams would roll over, the Crushers stood tall, beginning the seventh with a leadoff homer from RF Jake Guenther to cut the deficit to four. Lake Erie then quickly got another baserunner on with a walk, which marked the end of Miley's day. Right-hander Alec Whaley took over and surrendered a double and a walk to load the bases. Shortstop Jarrod Watkins then stepped up and blooped a two-run single into right field to plate two runs and further cut into the lead, withering it down to two. Whaley was then taken out for right-hander Lukas Veinbergs who left the two remaining runners stranded on base and preserving the two-run lead.
After right-handed flamethrowers Sammy Tavarez and Trevor Kuncl teamed up for a scoreless eighth, the Crushers entered the ninth down two with only three outs to work with. Center fielder Jack Harris began the inning against Gateway closer Leoni De La Cruz by smacking a solo homer to bring the Crushers to within one. The lefty seemed to settle down, however, and sat down the next two batters on strikes. Second baseman Alberti Chavez then worked the count out to 3-2 before drawing a two-out walk to keep the game rolling. First baseman Scout Knotts followed suit to put the go-ahead run on base and bring Byrd to the plate in a clutch spot.
The first pitch to the Crushers' designated hitter from De La Cruz clipped the zone to make it 0-1. De La Cruz then chucked a slider that Byrd took a mighty hack at but came up empty to go down 0-2. Down to the final strike, De La Cruz came back with a breaking ball that Byrd sent high and deep over the right field wall to complete the Crushers' comeback and put them in front 10-8. Kuncl then came back out for the ninth and closed the game out with a 1-2-3 inning, complete with two strikeouts, to send the Crushers to the Division Series and the Grizzlies home for the season.
Kuncl was credited with the win for his efforts while De La Cruz took the loss after blowing his first save opportunity as a member of the Grizzlies.
With the win, Lake Erie will move on to face the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League West Division Series, beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 PM EDT. The series will begin at Crushers Stadium in Avon and then will move to Washington for the second and third games, if necessary.
