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 Lake County Captains

Captains Erase Four-Run Deficit to Win Third Straight

July 27, 2016 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


Eastlake, OH - The Lake County Captains fell behind early on Wednesday morning against the South Bend Cubs, but Lake County showed its resilience. The Captains came all the way back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat South Bend at Classic Park in the series opener, 5-4.

South Bend jumped in front early. Just three batters into the game, Alberto Mineo blasted a three-run home run over the right field wall against Captains starter Micah Miniard to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. The Cubs added another run in the second on an RBI single by Carlos Sepulveda, but that is where the Captains clamped down.

Miniard escaped big trouble in the third inning, leaving the bases loaded and keeping South Bend off the scoreboard. After the right-hander escaped the jam, the Captains got a big momentum boost from their offense. With two outs, Ordomar Valdez got on with a single and Martin Cervenka hit a high fly ball that hit off the top of the right-centerfield wall and bounced over for a two-run homer. The long ball cut the Cubs' lead in half at 4-2.

The Captains kept slowly chipping away at the Cubs' lead. In the fourth, Lake County loaded the bases and scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Miller to trim South Bend's advantage to just one run.

The next inning presented another opportunity for the Captains, but they could not take advantage. Valdez led off with a single and stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position with nobody out. After South Bend lefty Jose Paulino struck out Cervenka, Valdez took off for third base while Paulino was standing on the mound. Valdez swiped third on the daring play, but the Cubs pulled the infield in and shortstop Andruw Monasterio threw Valdez out at home on a ground ball by David Armendariz. The Captains exited the fifth still trailing by one run.

In the sixth, Lake County finally tied the score. Sam Haggerty led off with a triple to the gap in right-centerfield, but was almost left there. Bobby Ison tried to drop down a bunt, but he pushed it right to the pitcher for the first out. Angel Miguel then worked a walk, setting up a double play situation, but Miller again came through with a sacrifice fly. Haggerty scored on the fly ball to left field to tie the score, 4-4.

The Captains let a leadoff double by Willi Castro go unrewarded in the seventh, but they took the lead in the eighth. Armendariz started the eighth inning by hitting a bouncing ball down the third base line that took an awkward hop and bounced past third baseman Vimael Machin for a double. Reliever Tanner Griggs then hit Juan De La Cruz to put runners on first and second and the Cubs went to the bullpen.

Scott Effross came in to pitch for South Bend and Haggerty dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. The Cubs then intentionally walked Ison to load the bases and set up a double play situation. Miguel came up to the plate to try to give Lake County the lead, but he did not even have to get a hit. Effross threw a wild pitch, allowing Armendariz to score the go-ahead run.

The Captains' pitching staff was stellar after giving up four runs in the first two innings. Miniard, pitching in his Midwest League debut, did not allow a run over his final two frames on the hill. Christian Meister then pitched 2.2 innings without allowing a run. Cortland Cox nailed down the final three outs in the ninth and ultimately earned the win in relief. Cox (5-1) pitched 2.1 innings and gave up no runs on just one hit. He walked one and did not record a strikeout.

Griggs (1-1) suffered the loss for South Bend. He gave up two runs, the tying and winning runs, over two innings. Griggs allowed three hits, walked one batter, hit one batter and struck out a pair.

Lake County has won three games in a row and will take on South Bend again on Thursday night at Classic Park. If the Captains win Thursday or Friday, they will win accomplish something they have not done all season: win four straight series. First pitch on Thursday night is at 7:00 PM.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.


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