Crushers score early, complete sweep, win sixth straight

AVON — After three nights of waiting until the last inning, the Crushers got the rally going early Sunday. Lake Erie exploded for five runs in the fourth and fifth, then held on for a 6-3 win to complete its sweep of Florence at Crushers Stadium. The Crushers rallied to win in their three games prior to Sunday, trailing by at least three runs each time. They hit a grand slam in the ninth and walked off in the 10th Thursday against Joliet, walked off with three in the ninth against Florence on Friday and on Saturday scored two in the seventh then walked it off in the ninth. "Some days you don't even have to think about things because things just go your way," said Lake Erie designated hitter Burle Dixon, who finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. "I feel like we're in a groove right now. We're on the fastball, looking to do damage with guys in scoring position. We got some good pitches to hit and put some good wood to it." Lake Erie (46-30) has won six straight and 13 of the last 16, with the only blemish a three-game sweep by Washington. The Crushers entered Sunday with a two-game lead in the Central Division. Next up for Lake Erie is a nine-game road trip, beginning against Gateway on Tuesday night. The Crushers will return home Aug. 22 for a three-game series against Schaumburg, which as of today would be a battle between the teams with the best records in the Midwest Conference. "I think we're peaking at the right time," Dixon said. "We're hot right now. We're playing as a team, as a unit. We have faith in everybody in every situation and we're playing as one unit. Things are going our way." Lake Erie got going in the fourth with back-to-back doubles by Dario Gomez and Dixon, which tied the game at 1. Two batters later, Sam Franco gave the Crushers a 2-1 lead, taking an 0-2 pitch into left field for an RBI single. Lake Erie piled on in the fifth. Sebastian Alexander reached on an error and Gomez brought him in on a single to left. Dixon then crushed a ball over the kids play zone in right field, giving the Crushers a 5-1 lead. "I was just looking to do damage on the fastball," Dixon said. "Get the barrel out front and catch the ball a little bit deep. Just looking to be on time, out front and looked to hit the fastball. I got a couple of good pitches to hit today." Derek Vegas also recorded two doubles, his second coming in the eighth to give the Crushers an insurance run. Florence (34-42) made things interesting in the seventh with runners on the corners and one out, but former Keystone standout Brandyn Sittinger came in and put out the fire by inducing a double play. He then retired the side in order in the eighth and Michael Brewer closed the door in a non-save situation. "Brandyn did a great job," manager Jared Lemieux said. "It's tough on Sunday after pitching yesterday. He found something to get his adrenaline going. Came in, executed his pitches and got the ground ball we needed to help keep his pitch count down. And then he went back out and went one, two, three. Brandyn has been fantastic. He's played at the highest level and, in my opinion, deserves to be back there." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.