By Greg Halbleib
NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters broke their five-game slump Friday night at the Corn Crib in a 9-0 win against the Lake Erie Crushers while holding the guests to only two hits.
Chris Carmain (4-2) carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning when Austin Prott singled through the right side with one out for the Crushers’ first base knock.
The CornBelters struck first when first baseman Aaron Dudley hit a two-out RBI double in the first inning, driving in shortstop Pat McKenna.
In the fourth inning, Belters third baseman Richard Lucas was aided by the wind and hit a solo home run out to the right field berm. Outfielder Cameron Monger added to the lead with a bases-loaded RBI which would move second baseman Jason Merjano up to third base. Monger would steal second base while Merjano took home plate. Center fielder Mark Micowski hit a ball to shallow center to bring in Monger and make the score 5-0.
In the fifth inning outfielder Sam Judah drove in Lucas on a one-out RBI single to build the advantage to 6-0.
In the eighth inning, Merjano drove in designated hitter Ozney Guillen. Merjano came in to home when Monger hit an RBI single. McKenna also hit a sacrifice fly to drive in catcher Steve Sulcoski for the night’s final tally.
Crushers starter Hunter Adkins (0-3) took the loss with eight hits, one home run, two walks, and three earned runs in six innings pitched. Carmain issued five walks and three strikeouts in seven innings in addition to the lone hit. Prott also blooped a ninth-inning double to collect both Lake Erie hits.
The CornBelters (17-13) face off in game two of this series against the Crushers (10-18) Saturday night at 6:35. The pitching battle is a match-up of right-handers, Kevin Johnson (2-1, 4.55 ERA) for the Belters and Rob Blanc (0-1, 2.32) for the Crushers. Broadcast time on WEZC-FM 95.9 and WJBC.com with a listen live link at www.normalbaseball.com is 6:20. Special guests are John Luke and Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty.
