AVON, Ohio (August 28, 2025) – Down East Bird Dawgs dropped their series finale to Lake Erie on Thursday night, falling 8-2 in a rain-shortened game at Crushers Stadium.

The Bird Dawgs opened the scoring in the top of the first when Jaylen Smith drove in a run on a groundout to make it 1-0.

In the bottom of the inning, Lake Erie answered as Alfredo Gonzalez lifted a sacrifice fly to tie it at 1-1.

The Crushers built momentum, taking the lead with a run in the third, then adding three more in both the fourth and fifth innings to move ahead 8-1.

Down East pushed a run across in the seventh when Kalae Harrison hit an RBI single, but the game was delayed due to rain. Eventually, the umpires declared the game final, as Lake Erie took an 8-2 win.

Eric Waldichuk (0-4) took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Jake Eisenbarger (10-4) earned the win, giving up one unearned run on three hits over six innings.

The Bird Dawgs fall to 36-56 and will head to Washington to take on the Wild Things for the final series of the season. The series starts on Friday, August 29, at 7:05 p.m.