Captains Fall to Lugnuts, 8-7, Three-Game Winning Streak Snapped
MWL Lake County Captains

Captains Fall to Lugnuts, 8-7, Three-Game Winning Streak Snapped

Published on May 22, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In Game 4 of a six-game series, the Lake County Captains (21-21) fell to the Lansing Lugnuts (19-24) by a final score of 8-7 on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

In a game that featured 15 combined runs on 19 combined hits, Lake County brought the winning run to the plate in the ninth with one out, but could not push the run across.

Lansing wasted no time in scoring, putting the first five batters of the game on base. The Lugnuts plated two runs on an RBI single by RF Devin Taylor, MLB Pipeline's No. 8 Athletics prospect, and a bases-loaded walk drawn by DH Nate Nankil, MLB Pipeline's No. 24 Athletics prospect.

The Captains got on the board in the second inning, as 1B Maick Collado rolled an RBI single on the ground into left field, cutting the Lake County deficit in half.

An inning later, the Captains took their first lead of the night on a monster smash by 1B Nolan Schubart, MLB Pipeline's No. 28 Guardians prospect. His two-run home run landed on the roof of the indoor batting cages well beyond the right-field wall.

Lansing took advantage of Lake County miscues in the fourth inning, plating four runs on just one hit. Captains pitchers walked five batters in the frame, with Lugnuts batters seeing 13 straight balls at one point. The lone hit was an RBI single by Lansing LF Myles Naylor.

Lake County struck back in the fifth inning with a rally, which began with an RBI double from CF Jace LaViolette, MLB Pipeline's No. 7 Guardians prospect. 3B Luke Hill, MLB Pipeline's No. 30 Guardians prospect, eventually put a ball in play that induced a throwing error by Lugnuts 2B Casey Yamauchi. The error allowed a pair of Captains runs to score and tie the game at 6-6.

Lansing quickly retook the lead in the top of the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Naylor, his second RBI of the night. But Lake County answered quickly in the home half of the frame with a game-tying solo shot from 2B Jeffrey Mercedes, his third home run of the season.

The Lugnuts, however, scored the deciding run in the top of the eighth on an infield single from Yamauchi, which induced a throwing error by Mercedes that allowed SS Ali Camarillo to score.

Lansing RHP Darlin Pinales (W, 1-1; BS, 1) earned the win for the visitors, allowing one run on two hits and throwing three strikeouts in two innings out of the bullpen.

Captains LHP Michael Kennedy (L, 3-2) suffered the loss, allowing two runs on six hits and throwing a strikeout in 3.2 innings of piggyback relief.

RHP Jay Dill (S, 1) earned the save for the Lugnuts with two scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out four.

Game 5 of this week's six-game series between the Captains and Lugnuts is scheduled for Saturday night, May 21, at 7 p.m. Lake County will celebrate 2016 AL Champions Night at the ballpark, where the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a Corey Kluber Bobblehead Box presented by Minutemen. 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

- OF Jace LaViolette extended his hitting streak to five games with a pair of doubles on Friday night. The 2025 first-round pick out of Texas A&M is batting .429 (9-for-21) with seven runs, three doubles, one triple, one home run, six RBI, and a 1.288 OPS during this span.

- 1B Nolan Schubart extended his hitting streak to five games with a two-run home run on Friday night. The 2025 third-round pick out of Oklahoma State is batting .345 (8-for-23) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, and a 1.071 OPS during this span.

- LHP Izaak Martinez pitched 1.2 perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts on Friday night. The 2024 18th-round pick out of UC San Diego owns a 1.93 ERA in 12 relief appearances for the Captains this season.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from May 22, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central