After Jorge Garcia worked a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Miners loaded the bases in the bottom half, and Mateo scored on a wild pitch to give them a 1-0 lead.
The Miners added to their lead in the bottom of the third as Maciel led off with a single before Taylor drove him home with an RBI triple. Backstrom followed with an RBI single and later came around to score on O’Brien’s sacrifice fly, giving the Miners a 4-0 lead heading into the fourth.
The Miners broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Backstrom started the rally with a single before Berkey was hit by a pitch and Ferrara drew a walk, loading the bases. O’Brien then cleared the bases with a grand slam to extend the Miners’ lead. Culley came on in relief of Lockhart and retired three straight, but the damage had already been done as the Miners took an 8-0 lead into the sixth inning.
Garcia’s night came to an end in the top of the sixth inning after issuing a pair of walks. He finished with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out three.
The Miners picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the sixth. Walters’ bloop single plated two runs. After D’Amato drew a walk, Mateo followed with a two-run single, Maciel added an RBI single, and Taylor drove in another run with a double. Backstrom also doubled home two more runs before Berkey reached on an error, and Ferrara capped the offensive outburst with an RBI double. The Miners took a 17-0 lead into the seventh inning.
In the top of the seventh, the Crushers would plate their first run after they loaded the bases. Acevedo lifted a sacrifice fly into left field, allowing Tobias to score. The Miners would head to the bottom of the seventh 17-1.
The Miners responded right away to the Crushers’ solo run by loading the bases. Taylor drew a walk to bring home a run, and Backstrom followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, plating another. The Miners took a 19-1 lead into the eighth inning.
The Crushers were able to get a little rally going. Pike started the inning with a single before Jett followed with a double to put runners in scoring position. Parks then delivered a two-run single, and Krauss added a double. Benjamin capped the rally with a two-run single, cutting into the Miners’ lead. Miners still lead 19-5 into the bottom of the eighth.
The Miners went on to secure the 19-5 victory behind a dominant offensive performance.
With this win, the Sussex County Miners move to 33-36, while the Lake Erie Crushers drop to 29-41. Game 2 of the series will take place tomorrow at 6:35 PM at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, NJ. Tune in tomorrow night on HomeTeam Network or listen to the live Miners Radio Network Broadcast on scminers.mixlr.com.
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Above: Miners catcher Keenan O’Brien went 1-for-4, scored two runs, and drove in five (photo by Phil Hoops)