Frontier League's Lake Erie Crushers win game ... without scoring a run?

The Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League made history on Friday night by becoming the first team to win a professional baseball game by not scoring a run. Wait, what?

Technically speaking, the Crushers beat the Schaumburg Boomers 1-0, but no runs were scored in 11 innings. That begs the question: How is this possible?

Beginning with the 2022 season, tied games in the Frontier League that go beyond 10 full innings (or eight innings for a doubleheader game) are decided in a half-inning sudden death. Per the official Frontier League rules, the home team designates whether it will field or hit for half of the 11th inning.

If the home team opts to field first and doesn't allow a run to score (the batting team starts with a runner on first base), it is declared the winner. If the home team decides to hit, the batter on the lineup card who immediately precedes the next scheduled batter to hit is placed on first base, and the game proceeds with normal extra-inning rules. The home team wins if it scores. The opposition wins if it prevents a run from scoring.

On Friday, Lake Erie decided to pitch first and try to secure the win without plating a run. With the bases loaded and two outs, Crushers right-handed pitcher Sammy Tavarez induced a game-ending groundout. That’s how you win a game without scoring any runs.

Founded in 1993, the Frontier League is the longest-standing MLB Professional Partner League and features 16 teams. You can read more about the new rules that were implemented in 2022 here.