Crushers hit five home runs in rout of Mud Monsters

AVON — The Lake Erie Crushers hit five home runs during an offensive onslaught that propelled them to a 16-6 win in the series finale against the Mississippi Mud Monsters on Sunday. The roller coaster season start continued for Lake Erie (4-5) as a warm afternoon at ForeFront Field led to a hot offense that banged out 15 hits. "It's nice to see the boys bounce back today," Crushers manager Jared Lemieux said. "Sometimes a loss like (Saturday) night can linger and this group came out and showed they were ready to play." The Mud Monsters got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first as third baseman Travis Holt scored on a passed ball from Crushers catcher Derek Vegas. It was all Crushers from there as Garret Pike tied the game with an RBI single in the second. They added seven runs in the bottom of the third as Alfredo Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to give the Crushers the lead. Vegas drove in two with a double, Jarrod Watkins drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Pavin Parks knocked one in with a single and center fielder Bryce Hayman scored on a wild pitch to push the Crushers' lead to 8-1. Lake Erie used power to keep the runs coming — designated hitter Samuel Benjamin went 440 feet to right center to extend the lead to 9-1 before Vegas drove in three more runs with a 417-foot opposite field home run. Mississippi added two runs in the top of the fifth inning as Slater Schield and Brayland Skinner drove in runs to cut the lead to 12-3. Home runs from Jacob Tobias, Jaidan Quinn and Pavin Parks gave the Crushers a 16-3 lead entering the ninth. Mississippi's Kyle Booker hit a two-run home run followed by an RBI single from Nathan Rose off Crushers player-coach Brandyn Sittinger, but that was all the veteran right-hander surrendered. The first quality start for the Crushers of the 2026 season was thrown by left-hander Nathan Shinn, who gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits with nine strikeouts and a pair of walks over 6 1/3 innings. "It's a heck of a start for him. When a pitcher competes like that, throws a lot of strikes, keeping the boys in the game, that allows the offense to take advantage," Lemieux said. "One piece leads to another and that's what happened today. I thought Nathan did a great job and it was nice to see the bats get going." Shinn was relieved by Branden Noriega and Sittinger, with Noriega pitching a scoreless 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. For Mississippi, starter Brenton Thiels was roughed up. The 7-footer surrendered six hits, eight earned runs and five walks with only two strikeouts in 3 innings. The Mud Monsters relievers did not provide much relief, as Tristan House, Dusty Baird, Connor Langrell and AJ Fritz covered the remaining six innings. The Mississippi bullpen surrendered eight runs on nine hits. Right-hander Baird was sharp, however, throwing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. The Crushers offense was led by Benjamin, Vegas and right fielder Garret Pike. Benjamin went 1-for-3 with a home run, three walks and four runs scored, Vegas finished with five RBIs and Pike notched a three-hit game. The Crushers will begin a six-game road trip Tuesday at 11:05 a.m. against the Illinois Slammers. They return home May 26. "Very pleased with the effort today, they deserve this, they have been working hard all spring," Lemieux said. "To finish off this home series here like this is a good way to give us some momentum as we go on the road." Contact Michael Bodzenta at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.