AVON, Ohio — The Schaumburg Boomers opened a key weekend series with an epic battle against the Lake Erie Crushers, battling zeroes all the way into sudden death when the Crushers held the Boomers off the board to grab the victory in the 11th.

Cole Cook and Jack Eisenbarger battled each other inning by inning, pitch by pitch, zero by zero. The Boomers put a runner at second in four innings against Eisenbarger but could not score. Cook did not allow a runner to reach second until there were two outs in the eighth. Cook fanned the side in the fifth and struck out nine in eight shutout innings, allowing just six total baserunners on a walk, two hit batters and three hits, finishing with over 120 pitches in the no-decision.

Both teams prevented chances late in the game. Paxton Wallace had a potential go-ahead homer taken away from him by an incredible catch from Jake Guenther in right field in the seventh. Dylan Stutsman left a runner at third in the bottom of the ninth after the first two batters reached against him. The runner was the first to reach third for Lake Erie. Brett Milazzo was stranded at third in the 10th and with the winning run at third in the bottom of the inning Jake Joyce induced a double play ball to send the game to sudden death. Lake Erie chose to pitch and the Boomers were able to load the bases with two outs but did not score, handing the Crushers the series opening victory.

The sudden death affair marked the first of the year for the Boomers. Alec Craig reached base three times, recording a single and two walks. The team posted four hits in the game but left 12 on base. The Boomers finished 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Christian Fedko doubled with two outs in the first but the Boomers did not put another runner into scoring position until the fifth. The pitching staff twirled 10 shutout innings and struck out 10 while the defense played error free.

The Boomers (38-36) will continue the road series on Saturday night at 6:05pm with the middle game of the huge weekend set. With the addition of a home doubleheader on August 12, there are just 10 dates left at Wintrust Field on the 2024 schedule and tickets for all remaining contests this season are now on sale! Make plans to be part of the fun this summer before it’s too late! Visit boomersbaseball.com or call 847-461-3695 to secure yours.