Lake Erie Crushers

Lake Erie Crushers
Team logo Cap insignia
League	Frontier League (East Division)
Location	Avon, Ohio
Ballpark	All Pro Freight Stadium
Year founded	2009
League championships	1 (2009)
Division championships	1 (2013)
Colors	Black, Red, White
Ownership	Blue Dog Baseball, LLC
Manager	Cameron Roth
Media	The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram
Website	www.lakeeriecrushers.com

The Lake Erie Crushers are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio. It is a member of the independent Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

The Crushers won the Frontier League Championship in their inaugural season. They defeated the River City Rascals three games to two after losing the first two games of the series.

History

Avon Professional Baseball unveiled the name and logo on Thursday, December 4, 2008, of the Frontier League team that will begin play in Avon. The name was chosen from entries submitted in a "Name the Team" contest sponsored by The Morning Journal. The owner of the team, Steven Edelson, said more than 800 team name ideas were submitted.

After years of talk, Frontier League officials decided to put a team in Lorain County. After initially hinting it would be in Lorain, they decided to go with Avon because, rumor was they were not happy with the stadium Lorain was offering them, which is now known as The Pipe Yard.

The "Name the Team" contest was launched in October, and the hundreds of entries were whittled down. Fans then voted on finalist selections, choosing from Ohio, Lorain County, Avon, Cleveland or Lake Erie for the team location name and the Groove, Ironmen, Red Tails, Artichokes, Crushers, Walleyes, and Woollies for the team name.

In February 2016 Edelson sold the team to Tom & Jacqueline Kramig of Blue Dog Baseball LLC. The Kramig's are on-site Owner/Operators and are planning several significant upgrades to the team and ballpark in conjunction with the City of Avon.

Seasons

Lake Erie Crushers (Frontier League)
Year	W-L	PCT	Place	Postseason	Frontier League Champions
2009	57-38	.600	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Kalamazoo Kings 3-2. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the River City Rascals 3-2.	Lake Erie Crushers
2010	50-46	.521	4th in FL East	No Postseason	River City Rascals
2011	51-45	.537	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost to Joliet Slammers 0-2.	Joliet Slammers
2012	53-42	.558	4th in FL East	No Postseason	Southern Illinois Miners
2013	56-40	.583	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Traverse City Beach Bums 3-1. Frontier League Championship Series: Lost to the Schaumburg Boomers 0-3.	Schaumburg Boomers

2011 All-Star Game

On July 13, 2011, the Lake Erie Crushers and All Pro Freight Stadium hosted the 2011 Frontier League All-Star Game. A total of eight Crushers were voted into the game by the Frontier League's managers, coaches, media, and front offices. There have been 12 fielders and seven pitchers to play in the game for the Crushers with Andrew Davis and Paul Fagan being the only repeat All-Stars.

Lake Erie Crushers All-Stars
Year	Player	Position	Game Location
2009	Andrew Davis	Third Base	Road Ranger Stadium Loves Park, Illinois
	Tim Binkoski	Outfielder
	Luke Hetherington	Outfielder
	Gordon Gronkowski	DH
	Paul Fagan	Pitcher
2010	Andrew Davis	Third Base	Rent One Park Marion, Illinois
	Jodam Rivera	Shortstop
	Josh Roberts	Pitcher
	Travis Risser	Pitcher
	Jeff Cinadr	Pitcher
2011	Andrew Davis	Third Base	All Pro Freight Stadium Avon, Ohio
	Nick Mahin	Outfielder
	Kelyn Schellenberg	Pitcher
	Joel Collins	Catcher
	Kyle Shaffer	Catcher
2012	Paul Fagan	Pitcher	The Corn Crib Normal, Illinois
	Russell Moldenhauer	DH
2013	Andrew Davis	Third Base	Consol Energy Park Washington, PA
	Max Casper	Infielder
	Emmanuel Quiles	Catcher
	Daniel Bowman	Outfielder
	Matt Rein	Pitcher
	Dave Middendorf	Pitcher

Stadium

The Crushers play at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio, which has been their home since their inception in 2009. The stadium, built and owned by the City of Avon, has a capacity of 5,000, including 3,000 box seats, 11 private suites, four-person terrace tables, berm seating and picnic and patio areas for group outings. The playing surface is artificial turf, and includes concession stands, a gift shop and a state-of-the-art sound system.

References

External links

• Official site
• Frontier League