09.23.09 Lake Erie Crushers 2009 Frontier League Champions (81 images)

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The Lake Erie Crushers capped off a remarkable inaugural season by winning the 2009 Frontier League Championship by virtue of a 13-10 win over River City in game five of the championship series at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. The Crushers took the best of five series three games to two.

The Crushers used a seven -run fifth inning to erase a two-run deficit and power themselves to the championship as Tyler Johnson hit a three-run double and Todd Balduf added a two-run single to highlight...
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The Lake Erie Crushers capped off a remarkable inaugural season by winning the 2009 Frontier League Championship by virtue of a 13-10 win over River City in game five of the championship series at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. The Crushers took the best of five series three games to two.

The Crushers used a seven -run fifth inning to erase a two-run deficit and power themselves to the championship as Tyler Johnson hit a three-run double and Todd Balduf added a two-run single to highlight the hit parade.

"Doing this in year one, building a championship from scratch, that's what made this so special," a champagne-drenched Manager John Massarelli said afterwards. "This is just an amazing feeling to share this with this great group of guys."

Arden McWilliams had three hits and drove in three runs for the Crushers, Balduf also drove in three. Eddie Tisdale added three hits and series MVP Andrew Davis scored two runs. Paul Fagan, who worked two innings in relief of Cardoza Tucker, picked up the win. River City reliever Tony Marsala was saddled with the loss.

The Rascals, despite being down by five runs at several points towards the end, never gave up. River City slugged five home runs on the night, including a pair by Chris Colton.

"It's unbelievable. We couldn't have done this without Mazz (Massarelli) and this organization," said Owner Steven Edelson. "These boys did it and in their first year!"
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