MWL Peoria Chiefs

Chiefs-Captains Split Saturday Twinbill

August 19, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


Eastlake, OH- The Peoria Chiefs and the Lake County Captains split their second doubleheader of the week on Saturday. Lake County took the opener 5-1 while Peoria took home the nightcap with a 4-1 win.

GAME ONE:

Lake County worked out of an early hole and scored the final five runs of Saturday's opener to best the Chiefs 5-1 at Classic Park.

Three batters into the game, Jimmy Crooks put the Chiefs in front. The catcher launched a no-doubt homer to right to stake Peoria to an early 1-0 lead. For Crooks, it was his 10th of the year to add to his team lead.

Trent Baker started game one for Peoria. After retiring the Captains in order in the first, Lake County tied the score in the second. Dayan Frias led off the inning with a triple and later scored on an infield hit from Yordys Valdez.

Two innings later, Frias and Valdez teamed up as part of a two-run fourth to give the Captains the lead. Frias led off the inning with a single and a Cooper Ingle ground-rule double put runners at second and third with no one out. Valdez collected his second hit in as many trips to the plate, driving in two more to make it 3-1.

Baker was an out away from qualifying for a quality start when Junior Sanquintin lifted a two-run homer to right to give Lake County their 5-1 advantage.

Despite an early uprising, Peoria's offense was stymied by Captains starter Ethan Hankins in the opener. The right-hander retired seven in a row at one point and allowed just two hits over five innings to earn his first professional win.

GAME TWO:

The Chiefs earned their first win of the week and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Lake County in Saturday's nightcap at Classic Park.

After being held to just four hits in game one, Peoria pounded out four hits in the opening inning and scored a pair of runs against Captains starter Ryan Webb. On the first pitch of the game, Darlin Moquete legged out an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Two pitches later, R.J. Yeager scored Moquete on a single into center. Jimmy Crooks and Osvaldo Tovalin added first-inning hits, but Peoria's second run was scored on a 6-4-3 double play.

The two-run cushion was more than enough for Ian Bedell. The former Mizzou star worked around a lead-off walk in the first, started a 1-6-3 twin killing in the second and whiffed a pair of Lake County batters in the third.

Peoria doubled their lead in the fourth with a milestone homer mixed in. Brody Moore led off the frame with his first professional homer, an opposite field blast to right to make it 3-0 Chiefs. Later in the inning, Moquete plated Jeremy Rivas on a safety squeeze play to boost the lead to 4-0.

Bedell was a strike away from punching out the side in the fourth when Yordys Valdez picked up where he left off in game one. The switch batter connected on his third High-A homer to make it a 4-1 game. Bedell retired the next man he faced and departed after four innings. The right-hander allowed just three hits and whiffed six.

From there, Edwin Nunez did the rest. The 21-year-old entered in the fifth with a chance to become the pitcher of record. Nunez retired the first eight batters he faced and erased any drama. After a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, Nunez whiffed Zac Fascia to end the contest.

The Chiefs collected eight hits in the win, their most in a single game in the series. Carlos Linarez led the club with two hits.

Peoria wraps up the 12-game road trip Sunday in Eastlake, Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST.

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Midwest League Stories from August 19, 2023


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