Captains Defeat Dragons, 6-2, in Series Opener
MWL Lake County Captains

Captains Defeat Dragons, 6-2, in Series Opener

Published on July 18, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In Game 1 of a two-game series, the Lake County Captains (50-35, 13-8) defeated the Dayton Dragons (47-37, 8-13) by a final score of 6-2 on Saturday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

Lake County propelled themselves to victory thanks to a quick start in the game, outscoring Dayton 6-1 over the first four innings in a stretch that featured two home runs.

The Captains got on the board in the first, jumping out in front thanks to an RBI single from CF Jace LaViolette, MLB Pipeline's No. 8 Guardians prospect.

Dayton got the run back an inning later, tying the game at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly from DH Jacob Friend.

LaViolette struck again in the third, beginning the home half of the frame with his 15th home run of the season to give Lake County a 2-1 lead. The Captains tacked on another run in the inning courtesy of an RBI groundout from 1B Juan Benjamin.

Lake County then fired off another multi-run inning in the fourth, plating three more runs in the frame. First, C Tyler Howard hit an opposite-field home run that just cleared the right-field wall, his second long ball of the year. LaViolette eventually drove in his third run of the game with his third hit, an RBI single. The Captains' final run of the inning scored on a double play that allowed DH Jonah Advincula to score, which made it a 6-1 contest.

The Dragons later cut into their deficit in the eighth inning with a leadoff home run from SS Julio Carreras. However, Lake County LHP Donovan Zsak retired six of the final seven Dayton hitters to shut the door and secure the Captains' 50th victory of the season.

RHP Cam Schuelke (W, 3-3) earned the win for Lake County with 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit, striking out three, and walking three.

LHP Kyle McCoy (L, 3-3) suffered the loss for the Dragons, surrendering six runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings of work, striking out two and walking two.

The finale of this week's two-game series between the Captains and Dragons is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, July 19, at 1 p.m. Lake County will celebrate Salute to Service Day at the ballpark, where veterans and active military members get in free. Additionally, fans will have the opportunity to win free ice cream all game long for National Ice Cream Day presented by 3 Daughters Construction. It will also be Family Fun Sunday presented by Classic Auto Group, which will feature pregame catch on the field and player autographs on the concourse, plus postgame kids run the bases.

The game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, the MiLB App, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

NOTES TO KNOW

- C Tyler Howard extended his hitting streak to nine games with a solo home run on Saturday night. The 2025 11th-round pick out of Portland is batting .438 with 14 hits, three doubles, two home runs, six RBI, and a 1.233 OPS during this span.

- OF Juneiker Caceres, MLB Pipeline's No. 6 Guardians and No. 97 MLB prospect, extended his on-base streak extended his on-base streak to 19 games across Lake County and Single-A Hill City with a single in his High-A debut on Saturday night. At 18 years, 337 days old, the Punto Fijo, Venezuela native became the youngest Captain since OF George Valera (18 years, 283 days) in 2019.

- 2B/OF Tommy Hawke went 3-for-5 with three singles on Saturday night. The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest is batting .364 with 16 hits in 10 games during the month of July.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

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