MWL Lake County Captains

Captains Slay Dragons to Take Series

Published on June 6, 2021 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (15-15) clinched a series victory with a dominant offensive performance on Sunday afternoon against the Dayton Dragons (16-14). The Captains won, 14-4, to take four out of six games from the Dragons at Classic Park.

Dayton's aggressive base running helped them take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Jacob Hurtubise led off the game with a walk. He stole second, and on the pitch the ball got behind Captains' catcher Joe Donovan for a passed ball allowing Hurtubise to race to third. He came home on a ground out to third base by Quincy McAfee.

The Captains offense exploded in the bottom of the second. José Tena led off with a triple to the right-center gap. Then Joe Naranjo came to the plate and hit a towering pop up to shortstop. The Dragons lost the ball in the sun and it fell to the ground. Tena scored from third and Naranjo made it to second base on the throw home. That brought Ray Delgado to the plate and he launched a two-run home run to make the score 3-1, Captains. A walk to Victor Nova brought Austen Wade to the plate and he connected on a two-run home run to right field to give the Captains a 5-1 advantage.

Will Brennan kept the second inning alive with a sharp single to right. With two outs Bryan Lavastida singled Brennan to third. Tena came to the plate for the second time in the inning and collected his second extra base hit of the inning on a double to right-center that scored both Brennan and Lavastida to make it 7-1, Captains after two innings.

The Captains tacked on three more runs in the fourth. Brayan Rocchio started the rally with a one-out double to right-centerfield. Tena and Naranjo then worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Delgado then delivered again with a two-run single to left that scored both Rocchio and Tena. Nova followed and pulled a ground ball single down the right field line to plate Naranjo and give the Captains a 10-1 lead.

Lake County piled on again in the fifth inning, this time against lefty reliever Jacques Pucheu. Donovan led off and drilled a solo homer over the left field wall for his first hit as a professional. Two batters later, Rocchio ripped a double off the base of the left field wall. After Pucheu hit

Bryan Lavastida with a pitch, Tena slammed a two-run double over McAfee's head in left field. Rocchio and Lavastida scored to push the Captains' lead to 13-1. Two more walks loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly by Nova brought home Tena to make the score 14-1, Lake County.

The Dragons clawed back with three runs in the top of the seventh. Captains lefty Tim Herrin walked Eric Yang with one out, Jonathan Willems singled with two outs and then Herrin walked Hurtubise to load the bases. McAfee then chopped a grounder down the right field line for a three-run double to clear the bases and cut the Captains' lead to 14-4.

Mason Hickman (2-2) worked a career high 5.2 innings to earn the win. He allowed one run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Spencer Stockton (2-1) left the game after 1.2 innings and seven runs allowed to take the loss. He surrendered seven hits and walked one.

The Captains hit the road for a six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps, beginning on Tuesday. First pitch for the series-opener at Parkview Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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Midwest League Stories from June 6, 2021


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