MWL Lake County Captains

Captains' Pitching Allows 11 Runs as River Bandits Even Series

Published on June 1, 2023 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In the second of a scheduled six-game series, the Lake County Captains (23-24) defeated the Quad Cities River Bandits (25-22) by a final score of 11-7 on Wednesday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. The loss marks Lake County's fifth defeat in their last six games.

In a game that featured just one inning in which both teams were scoreless, Quad Cities began the scoring with a pair of RBI singles from second baseman Javier Vaz and center fielder Gavin Cross in the top of the first inning, taking a 2-0 lead.

But Lake County would respond in the bottom of the second inning. After three consecutive walks loaded the bases, second baseman Nate Furman recorded his first career High-A RBI, grounding into a force out from which first baseman Will Bartlett scored on a throwing error. Then, in the following at-bat, shortstop Yordys Valdes hit a two-run single, giving the Captains a 3-2 advantage. Lake County, however, would not score again until the sixth inning.

The River Bandits would then tie the game at 3-3 in the following half-inning with a solo home run from third baseman Cayden Wallace. This was the first home run allowed by Captains starting pitcher Reid Johnston since May 10th.

Following a pair of consecutive walks in the top of the fourth inning, the right-hander would be removed from the game. Johnston pitched just 3.1 innings, his fewest since April 26th, allowing season-highs of 4 hits (tied) and 5 earned runs (tied), along with a career-high 5 walks, while throwing a season-low one strikeout in 89 pitches.

In the first pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Lake County reliever Juan Zapata allowed a three-run home run to Quad Cities second baseman Javier Vaz, which gave the River Bandits a 6-3 lead. Zapata also allowed one walk and threw one strikeout in 1.2 innings of relief.

After a scoreless fifth inning from both sides, the Captains would add a run in the home half of the sixth inning, as Will Bartlett hit an RBI ground-rule double to make the score 6-4.

In the top of the seventh inning, Lake County pitcher Trenton Denholm allowed two runs courtesy of a two-out, two-run double from Quad Cities second baseman Herard Gonzalez. Denholm would pitch 3.2 innings of relief, allowing 3 hits, a season-high 4 runs (2 earned) and one walk, while throwing 4 strikeouts. The right-hander would eventually surrender a two-run home run to Gavin Cross in the top of the ninth inning, Denholm's first home run allowed since April 20th, which made it a 10-6 game.

Lake County would tally two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-out, two-run home run from catcher Joe Donovan, his second home run of the season. This also ended Donovan's four-game hitless streak.

In the ninth inning, a walk and wild pitch from Captains reliever Tyler Thornton eventually led to an RBI single from Herard Gonzalez, which gave Quad Cities an 11-6 advantage. Then, Lake County added the final run of the game, as Jake Fox's first career High-A triple set up an RBI single from outfielder Justin Boyd, his first career High-A RBI.

First pitch for Game 3 of this week's six-game series between the Captains and River Bandits is scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. It will be "Bring Your Human Thursday" at the ballpark. Coverage of the game can be found on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.tv, as well as through @LCCaptains on Twitter and Instagram.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

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



Midwest League Stories from June 1, 2023


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