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Lake County Captains

Whitecaps Outlast Captains in 10

April 26, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Comstock Park, MI) - For the second day in a row, the Lake County Captains (12-8) found themselves in a back-and-forth, extra-inning battle, but this one did not go their way. After a walk-off win to wrap up their homestand on Wednesday, the Captains suffered a walk-off loss in 10 innings to the West Michigan Whitecaps (9-10) on Thursday night at Fifth Third Ballpark, 10-9.

West Michigan got off to a quick start and took a 4-0 lead behind a two-run first and a two-run third. Nick Ames opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly and Sam McMillan added an RBI single in the first inning. Two innings later, Chris Proctor knocked in Jordan Pearce on a fielder's choice and Avery Tuck's RBI single brought home Ulrich Bojarski.

Whitecaps starter Adam Wolf dealt over the first three innings, but the Captains roared back in the fourth. Wolf struck out seven Captains over the first three innings and gave up just one hit. In the fourth, however, Tyler Freeman roped a leadoff triple to dead centerfield and Mitch Reeves followed with an RBI double down the right field line. Ruben Cardenas then singled and Bo Naylor banged in Reeves with a single. Wolf walked Lopez and then struck out Jesse Berardi for the first out of the inning. The rally continued, however, as Connor Smith followed with a rocket to right-center that bounced over the wall for a two-run, ground rule double to tie the game at 4-4. Hosea Nelson came up next and singled home Smith to give the Captains the lead, 5-4.

Wolf was pulled from the game after recording just one out and allowing five runs with one runner, Nelson, still on base. The right-hander Xavier Javier relieved the lefty starter and allowed Smith to score on a ground out by Quentin Holmes to make it 6-4. The Captains sent 11 men to the plate during their six-run fourth and tallied six hits with two walks against a pair of Whitecaps pitchers.

Lake County did not remain ahead for long. In the bottom of the fourth, Captains starter Alex Royalty hit John Valente with a pitch and, after Pearce singled, Bojarski and Ames hit back-to-back RBI singles to even the score at 6-6.

In the sixth, Lake County recorded just one hit, but managed to take the lead again at 7-6. Nelson reached on an error by shortstop Jose King, Holmes singled and Freeman walked to load the bases. West Michigan went to the bullpen and brought in righty Angel Reyes to relieve Javier, but Reyes hit Reeves with a pitch to force in Nelson with the go-ahead run.

After Ames hit a game-tying, solo homer with two outs in the sixth, the Captains punched back in the top of the eighth and pulled in front again. Freeman reached with a one-out infield single and Reeves worked a walk against righty Reyes. The Whitecaps then brought in Jose Vasquez from the bullpen and the right-hander recorded the second out of the inning on a pop up, but Naylor followed with a line drive to right field. Freeman hustled around third and narrowly beat the throw home by Tuck to give Lake County a 8-7 lead. Reeves later scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-7.

Once again, the Whitecaps came back. Aaron Pinto came out to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Bojarski started the rally against the right-hander with a one-out infield single. Ames and McMillan followed with singles to load the bases and Wenceel Perez pinch-ran for Ames on second base. Chris Proctor came up next and hit a chopper that glanced off the glove of Pinto and bounced toward Smith. The second baseman charged the rolling ball, scooped it up and threw out Proctor at first, but Bojarski scored to trim the Captains' lead to 9-8. Pinto escaped the rest of the jam, but the Whitecaps tied the score the next inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, King worked a leadoff walk against Pinto and Reece Hampton bunted him up to second. Valente came up next and singled to centerfield. Holmes came up firing to the plate, but his heave sailed over Naylor's head, allowing King to score to tie the game at 9-9. Valente, seeing the high throw, tried to advance all the way to third, but Pinto was backing up the play and threw Valente out at third. The right-hander then got Pearce to fly out to left for the final out of the inning.

West Michigan won the game in the bottom of the 10th. Pearce began the inning on second base as the Whitecaps' free runner, per Minor League Baseball rules. Bojarski followed with an infield single on a swinging bunt into the grass between the third base line and the pitcher's mound, which pushed Pearce up to third. With runners on the corners and nobody out, the Captains played their corner infielders in and their middle-infielders halfway. Perez came to the plate for the first time in the game after pinch-running for Ames in the eighth. The switch-hitting shortstop hit a bouncing ball up the middle and Freeman ranged to his left, fielded and let loose a quick throw to the plate. Naylor tagged Pearce, but the runner slid in safely to win the game for West Michigan.

Vasquez (1-0) earned the win in relief. The right-hander pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, in which he surrendered three hits, walked two and struck out four.

Pinto (2-1) suffered the loss and blown save. He pitched two innings out of the bullpen and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits. Pinto struck out one and walked one.

Despite the loss, Freeman delivered a standout performance from the number-two spot in the order. The Captains' shortstop reached base in all six of his plate appearances and went 3-for-3 with a triple, three walks and two runs scored.

The Captains take on the Whitecaps on Friday in game two of their four-game series. First pitch at Fifth Third Ballpark is slated for 6:35 p.m.

Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Mini ticket plans for the 2019 season are still available for great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.

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