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MWL1 Lake County Captains

Hillman's Masterpiece Goes for Naught

June 28, 2018 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Eastlake, OH) - Juan Hillman pitched his best game of the season on Thursday night against the Fort Wayne TinCaps (6-2, 38-39), but it was not enough for the Lake County Captains (2-6, 31-47) who lost in 11 innings at Classic Park, 5-4.

Lake County provided Hillman with early run support. In the first inning, Todd Isaacs reached on an error by third baseman Luis Almanzar and then stole second base. Erlin Cerda later singled to put runners on the corners and Oscar Gonzalez roped a single to left that scored Isaacs with the game's first run. TinCaps starter MacKenzie Gore followed by walking Will Benson to load the bases. Two batters later, he walked Josh Rolette to force home another run and give the Captains a 2-0 lead.

Hillman held Fort Wayne scoreless over the first seven innings, at one point setting down 14 men in a row from the fourth into the seventh. Heading into the eighth, Hillman had fanned seven men, walked none and scattered three singles. No Fort Wayne runner had advanced beyond second base.

In the eighth, Hillman again started strong. He struck out Justin Lopez swinging for his eighth punch-out and his 13th consecutive out. Out number 14 was a ground out to second by Gabriel Arias. With two outs, however, Almanzar worked a walk to bring Jalen Washington to the plate. Washington belted a two-run home run over the left field wall to tie the score at 2-2.

Hillman recovered, giving up a single to Jeisson Rosario before Jose Medina made a diving stop at first to rob Esteury Ruiz of a hit and end the inning. The southpaw finished with a career-high tying eight innings of work and a season-high eight strikeouts. He surrendered two runs on five hits and one walk, but did not come away with a decision.

The ballgame went to extra innings and Fort Wayne took the lead in the top of the 10th. Jack Suwinski was the free runner on second base and Lopez bunted him up to third. After Kyle Nelson struck out Arias, the lefty worked the count to 1-2 on Almanzar. On the 1-2 pitch, Nelson threw a breaking ball in the dirt and got Almanzar to chase, but the ball skipped past catcher Rolette and went to the backstop. Suwinski scored from third on the wild pitch to give the TinCaps a 3-2 lead.

Lake County struck back in the bottom of the 10th. Rolette was the free runner on second and Miguel Eladio bunted him up to third. Jesse Berardi then hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Rolette with the tying run.

Fort Wayne produced two sacrifice flies to take a 5-3 lead in the top of the 11th. Washington was the free runner on second base and moved up to third on a wild pitch by reliever Tommy DeJuneas. Rosario then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring him home Washington with the go-ahead run. DeJuneas then walked Ruiz and, with Tirso Ornelas at the plate, the runner took off for second. Rolette's throw skipped into center and Ruiz scampered to third. Ornelas then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Ruiz to give the TinCaps a two-run lead.

The Captains rallied in the 11th and came dangerously close to tying the score. Isaacs was the free runner on second base and Nolan Jones walked to put the tying run on first. Cerda then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Gonzalez came up next and bounced a grounder to deep shortstop. Arias backhanded the ball and fired to first, just in time to get the hustling Gonzalez. Isaacs scored from third to pull the Captains within one run, but Jones took off for third base once Arias' throw went to first. Washington fired the ball across the diamond, from first base to third base, and Almanzar slapped the tag on Jones to end the game.

TinCaps reliever Evan Miller picked up the win. Miller (2-2) pitched two innings and allowed a pair of unearned runs. He walked one and did not allow a hit or record a strikeout.

DeJuneas (2-2) suffered the loss after allowing two unearned runs in the 11th inning, his only frame on the hill. DeJuneas did not surrender a hit, walked one and did not strike out a batter.

The TinCaps pushed their winning streak to six games with the victory on Thursday. Lake County and Fort Wayne play game two of their four-game series on Friday night at Classic Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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.

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