The left 10 men on base, including eight in scoring position, as they fell to the Frontier League West Division-leading Southern Illinois Miners, 5-4, in Marion, Ill.
Southern Illinois (10-3) has won eight of its last nine games.
Josh Roberts (1-2) had a strong start for the Crushers, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. But then the Miners got two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead.
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The Crushers (6-7) tried to rally, loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth with one out and down, 4-3. But Southern Illinois reliever Thomas Campbell struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
Scott Houin was 5-for-5 and drove in three runs to lead the Crushers.
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The two teams play at 8:05 p.m. Saturday. Paul Fagan (0-1, 9.82 earned run average) gets the start for the Crushers.Â
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