Crushers players enjoy their victory with a champagne spray Wednesday at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo. (Photo by David Richard, The Chronicle-Telegram.)
Unbelievable.
The dream goal for an inaugural season for the Lake Erie Crushers came true Wednesday night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo., as the Crushers emerged from an offensive slugfest to defeat the River City Rascals 13-10 and win Game 5 of the Frontier League Championship Series.
That’s right, the Lake Erie Crushers, the first-year expansion team, are Frontier League champions, and are bringing a championship home to Avon, Lorain County and Northeast Ohio.
“When I managed in Washington (Pa.), I thought that was the best setting in minor league baseball, and what we experienced this year, in Avon at the Freight with those fans, this surpassed that,” Crushers manager John Massarelli said. “These people are fanatical about this team. I’ve never experienced anything like it in the Frontier League, to see that much excitement and passion from this community and from this team. I could manage this team for 15 years.”
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Many fans made the 10-hour trek to O’Fallon, just outside of St. Louis, while 2,100 other fans listened to the live Webcast by Dave DeNatale on the team’s Web site.
The Crushers are scheduled to leave Missouri and head home with the Frontier League Champions Cup this morning. Plans for a potential welcome home rally or parade are still up in the air.
Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135.
Lake Erie Crushers outfielder Tyler Johnson is on top of the heap Wednesday as the Crushers ended their inaugural season atop the Frontier League with a wild 13-10 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their championship series against the River City Rascals in O’Fallon, Mo. (Photo by David Richard, The Chronicle-Telegram.)
