MWL1 Lake County Captains

Friis' Double Nearly Ignites Ninth-Inning Rally

Published on May 9, 2018 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Geneva, IL) - The Lake County Captains (14-17) lost their fourth consecutive series by dropping their fourth straight rubber game, falling to the Kane County Cougars (14-16) on Wednesday, 6-4. Lake County nearly came back in the ninth when a two-run double by Tyler Friis cut the Cougars' lead from four runs to two runs. Friis' two-base hit brought the Captains within a base hit of tying the score, but Kane County hung on to win the series finale at Northwestern Medicine Field.

Kane County built its lead with two-out rallies against Captains starter Juan Hillman. In the bottom of the first, Gabriel Maciel reached on a leadoff bunt single, but Hillman cleared the bases with a 3-6-3 double play. With two outs, however, Eduardo Diaz doubled to left and Renae Martinez grounded a single through the shortstop hole that scored Diaz with the first run.

The Cougars tallied two more runs thanks to a two-out rally in the third. Martinez and Yoel Yanqui hit back-to-back two-out singles and Eudy Ramos drove in both men with a double to push the Kane County lead to 3-0.

Nolan Jones pulled the Captains back within one run in the top of the fourth. Facing Cougars starter Jhoan Duran, Jorma Rodriguez led off with a single, bringing Jones to the plate with nobody out. Jones hit a high fly ball down the left field line. The ball hugged the line and stayed fair, hitting the left field foul pole to cut the Cougars' lead to 3-2.

The Cougars put some distance between themselves and the Captains in the fifth, this time before two outs were recorded. Diaz led off the frame with his second double of the day and Martinez followed with a double to plate Diaz. Later in the inning, Ramos drove home Martinez with a single to give Kane County a 5-2 lead. Yan Sanchez then homered off of Nick Gallagher in the eighth to push the lead to 6-2.

In the top of the ninth, the Captains faced left-handed reliever Jordan Watson and slowly started to jam the bases. Jose Vicente led off with a single. Two batters later, Oscar Gonzalez also singled and Jonathan Laureano followed with a bloop single down the right field line to fill the bags with one out. Watson settled down and struck out Ulysses Cantu, but Friis came up with a clutch two-out hit. Batting right-handed against the lefty Watson, Friis smacked a ball to the right-centerfield gap. Vicente and Gonzalez both scored and Friis landed on second with a double to cut Kane County's lead to 6-4.

The Captains had Laureano on third and Friis on second, representing the tying run, with two outs. A base hit had the potential to tie the score and Austen Wade did his part to work the count full against Watson. On the pay-off pitch, however, Watson struck out Wade looking to end the game.

Duran (1-0) earned his first win of the season with five strong innings for Kane County. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.

Hillman (0-5) suffered the loss. The left-hander surrendered five runs in five innings. The Cougars tallied 10 hits against Hillman, who walked two and struck out four.

The Captains lost two out of three to the Cougars and will head to Davenport, IA to start a three-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits on Thursday. Game one of the series is scheduled to begin at 7:35 p.m. EST at Modern Woodmen Park.

Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 9, 2018


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