Crushers' Flat Offense Wastes Good Pitching by Paul Fagan

The only fireworks the 4,633 fans attending Monday's game at got were the ones in the post-game Fourth of July show as the Crushers fell to the River City Rascals, 1-0.

Once again, missed opportunities doomed the Crushers as they left 11 men on base.

According to a report from the team, they had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when Chris Luick singled, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Boe and got to third on a wild pitch by Derrick Miramontes. With the tying run at third with one out, Miramontes struck out Patrick Norris and got Jodam Rivera to ground out to first to end the game.

The Crushers also had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth, but Boe hit into a double play to kill that chance.

Paul Fagan (3-5, 4.11 earned run average) pitched seven solid innings, giving up one run on four hits while walking two and striking out four.

The Rascals (30-12) are the first Frontier League team to reach 30 games this season.

The Crushers (18-24) start a six-game road trip Tuesday night, opening a three-game series at the Gateway Grizzlies. Game time is 8:05 p.m.