Frontier League: Alfredo Gonzalez does it all to lead Crushers past ValleyCats

AVON — Alfredo Gonzalez may have had his best day as a professional baseball player Sunday at Crushers Stadium. How's this sound? He doubled in two runs in the third inning, hit a grand slam in the fourth and made a great play at first base in the fifth to lead Lake Erie to an 8-0 win over Tri-City in front of 1,505 fans. "We try to do that every day," Gonzalez with a big smile. "We try to win. I try to hit the ball well. I waited for that pitch all the time — a fastball — and he threw me that pitch and I made good contact." "We talk about his role as a leader on this team and how he goes, we go," Lake Erie manager Jared Lemieux said. "He was really happy to be able to put it to work. He had a great day. He sparked us, he sparked the club." The Crushers (13-12) stopped a two-game skid in winning for just the fourth time in their last 14 games after starting the season 9-2. The ValleyCats fell to 16-8. Lake Erie definitely needed the win, especially after a disheartening loss Saturday night in which Tri-City scored six runs in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win. "We've got a good club and these guys turn the page well," Lemieux said. "We're only learning here early in the season and we're going to be better for it." The Crushers teed off on ValleyCats starter Mikell Manzano for 10 hits over the 3 1/3 innings he worked. Besides Gonzalez, Burle Dixon had two hits and scored twice and Derek Vegas had three hits, scored once and drove in one. Jarrod Watkins singled in the other run. Gonzalez, who was 3-for-3 to raise his batting average to .311, needed a triple in his last at-bat in the sixth inning to complete the cycle. He punched a fly ball the opposite way to right field but Dylan Broderick made the catch. When asked about it, Gonzalez was surprised. "Oh really?" he said. "I didn't know that I needed a triple for the cycle. I just wanted to hit the ball hard. I only try to hit the ball hard to get a win." "When he's playing, he's so into the game," Lemieux said. "It's not about him. It's about winning. That's what I love about Alfredo. He struggled with a little leg issue and he's starting to come back and we'll get to see him in full form now." That includes in the field. "He's pretty quick over there," Lemieux said of Gonzalez's slick play at first base. "I'm happy to see him do it and Vegas is maturing and coming into his own as a catcher. Hopefully the two of them can steady the course for us." Dylan Spain's five innings of shutout, one-hit ball didn't get past Lemieux either. Spain, coming back from an injury, struck out five and walked just one. "Dylan had a little setback in the spring," Lemieux said. "He's supposed to have been in our rotation from the get-go. He's worked himself back into it. This was kind of a structured outing for him and now the reins are going to be off. Just so happy to see him have success." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com.