MWL1 Lake County Captains

Cubs' Marquez Too Hot to Handle

Published on July 25, 2019 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(South Bend, IN) - Brailyn Marquez fired bullets past the Lake County Captains (17-15, 57-44) on Thursday night. The left-hander struck out 14 batters over six shutout, one-hit innings to lead the South Bend Cubs (16-16, 52-47) to a 4-1 win at Four Winds Field.

Marquez started red hot, striking out the first six men in succession. He needed just 11 pitches, 10 of which were strikes, to strikeout the side in the first. Again in the second, Marquez used 11 pitches, nine strikes, to strike out all three Lake County hitters. All six of those strikeouts were swinging.

The Cubs gave Marquez early run support with a pair of unearned runs in the opening frame against Captains starter Thomas Ponticelli. The right-hander walked D.J. Artis to begin the inning and Andy Weber reached on an error by second baseman Makesiondon Kelkboom. Fidel Mejia then plated the game's first run, lining a single to right that scored Artis. Rafelin Lorenzo followed with an infield single on a ball that dribbled 70 feet up the grass toward third to load the bases. Ponticelli struck out Jonathan Sierra looking for the first out and nearly got out of the inning with just one run allowed. Cole Roederer chopped a ball to first baseman Miguel Jerez and the Captains got the force out at second, but the ball was hit too slowly to turn two and Weber scored from third on the RBI fielder's choice to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Marquez went back to work in the third. He did not record a strikeout, but needed just six pitches to set down the side in order again. Roederer robbed Captains catcher Eric Rodriguez, laying out in right-centerfield to make a diving catch for the second out of the inning.

The Cubs scored another unearned run in the third. Artis led off with a single and later stole second. With two outs, Lorenzo hit a chopper up the middle that went under Kelkboom's glove for another error, allowing Artis to score and give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

Lake County notched its first hit in the fourth. After Roederer made another stellar diving catch, this time robbing Quentin Holmes with a similar diving catch in right-center, Jose Fermin dunked a one-out single into centerfield. That knock did not faze Marquez and neither did his throwing error on a pickoff, which sent Fermin to third. The lefty struck out the next two men to end the inning and went on to strike out the side on the fifth and sixth. Marquez fanned the final eight men he faced after striking out the first six men to begin the game.

South Bend added an insurance run in the seventh. Artis, who reached four times from the leadoff spot on two singles and two walks, hit an infield single with one out against lefty Tim Herrin. Artis was on second with two outs when Mejia hit a bouncing ball to first. Herrin raced to first, but did not get there in time and Artis ripped around third to score from second base on a ball that traveled fewer than 90 feet. The Cubs took a 4-0 lead.

Cody Farhat provided the Captains with their lone highlight of the night on Thursday. On the first pitch of the eighth, Farhat took reliever Brendan King deep over the left-centerfield wall for his third Midwest League homer.

Marquez (4-4) picked up a dominant win. His 14 strikeouts were the most in a single game by any Midwest League pitcher this year. Brian Glowicki took care of the Captains in the ninth with one strikeout and one hit allowed for his second save.

Ponticelli (3-3) took the loss. The Captains' starter pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three runs, none of which were earned, on four hits. He struck out four and walked four.

The Captains have lost the series to the Cubs, who have rebounded from a six-game losing streak to win four straight. Lake County will try to avoid a three-game sweep when they face the Cubs in the series finale on Friday. First pitch at Four Winds Field is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.

Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Mini ticket plans for the 2019 season are still available for great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 25, 2019


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