Chiefs Ride Late-Inning Heroics to 7-5 Victory
Published on August 17, 2025 under Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
EASTLAKE, OH - Down to their final out, the Peoria Chiefs rallied late, scoring five runs over the final three innings to defeat the Lake County Captains 7-5 in 10 innings.
With Peoria trailing 5-2 in the top of the eighth inning, a leadoff walk and a single put two on with nobody out. After a strikeout, Jon Jon Gazdar lined an RBI single to left field to cut the deficit to 5-3. Captains left-hander Izaak Martinez bounced back, recording a strikeout and a flyout to escape further damage.
Martinez returned for the ninth inning and, after issuing a one-out walk, induced a flyout from Deniel Ortiz for the second out. That's when the Peoria rally began. Andrew Sojka singled and Ian Petrutz worked a walk to load the bases. Down to his final strike, Won-Bin Cho delivered a clutch two-run single to right field on a 2-2 pitch, tying the game at five. Martinez regrouped to retire the next batter and end the inning.
In the bottom half, Peoria-born Mason Burns returned for his second inning of relief and set the Captains down in order, sending the game to extras.
In the tenth inning, with the ghost runner on second, Martinez retired the first batter before Ryan Campos stepped in and smashed a two-run go-ahead homer to right field, his second of the season, giving Peoria a 7-5 lead.
Burns returned in the bottom half and worked a perfect 1-2-3 inning, stranding the free runner at second. He capped it with a popout of Juan Benjamin to secure the win. Burns tossed three scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two to earn his second victory of the season.
Lake County built an early lead with timely two-out hitting. Bennett Thompson opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single, and Garrett Howe added another RBI single in the second to make it 2-1. The Captains tacked on another run in the fourth, and extended the margin to 5-2 in the fifth with an RBI single from Benjamin with two outs.
Peoria kept it close throughout. Deniel Ortiz doubled to lead off the second inning and scored on Cho's RBI single to tie the game at one. In the fifth, Campos drew a walk, stole second, and scored on Josh Kross's RBI knock to pull the Chiefs within 3-2 before the Captains briefly pulled away.
With the win, Peoria snapped a seven-game losing streak and salvaged the finale of the six-game series.
The Chiefs will have Monday off before continuing their 12-game road trip in Dayton, with first pitch against the Dragons scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT/6:05 p.m. CDT.
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