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MWL1 Lake County Captains

Lansing's Late Rally Sinks Captains

May 27, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Lansing, MI) - The Lake County Captains (30-20) came within five outs of a nailing down a series win against the Lansing Lugnuts (21-28) on Monday, but an eighth-inning Lugnuts rally led to a Lake County loss. A two-run home run by Gabriel Moreno was the deciding blow in a 5-4 Captains loss on Memorial Day at Cooley Law School Stadium.

Lansing grabbed an early lead just four batters into the ballgame. After a one-out bunt single by Otto Lopez, Captains starter Thomas Ponticelli retired Nick Podkul on a fly out to right, which brought Jake Brodt to the plate. Brodt hit a line drive over the right field wall for an opposite field, two-run home run to put the Lugnuts in front, 2-0.

The Captains countered with solo homers in back-to-back innings. Quentin Holmes took Lugnuts starter Sean Wymer deep over the left field wall for a leadoff homer in the third and Miguel Jerez crushed a ball over the left field foul pole the following inning to tie the game at 2-2.

The Lugnuts threatened in the fifth, but Holmes came up with a run-saving grab to end the inning. Rafael Lantigua hit a two-out double and Reggie Pruitt followed with a deep drive to the left-centerfield wall. Holmes raced back, leaped up, crashed into the wall and made the grab to keep the game tied.

In the top of the seventh, the Captains broke through to take a 3-2 lead. Lansing lefty reliever Marcus Reyes walked Jose Fermin and Tyler Freeman shot a single into right field to put men on the corners. Will Benson then singled into right field to score Fermin with the go-ahead run.

Lake County had a chance to expand its lead, but Lugnuts right-hander Jackson Rees came in and shut the door. Rees entered after Benson's single to relieve Reyes and struck out Hosea Nelson. After Benson stole second to put men on second and third, Rees fanned Mitch Reeves and Jerez to end the inning and leave two Captains stranded in scoring position.

Lansing put together its game-winning rally in the bottom of the eighth. Riley Echols entered from the Captains' bullpen to relieve Aaron Pinto. The right-hander struck out Pruitt looking for out number one and then got Lopez to roll a grounder in the grass toward third base. Connor Smith charged, gloved the baseball and threw to first, but his throw sailed wide and clipped off Reeves' glove before bouncing into the Lugnuts' right field bullpen. Lopez hustled around second as Benson picked up the baseball and whipped it to third. Echols had slid over to cover the bag, caught the throw from Benson on one hop and tagged Lopez, but the runner beat the tag. Podkul then lofted a sacrifice fly to left that brought Lopez home to tie the game. After Echols walked Brodt, Moreno hit an opposite-field, two-run homer that bounced off the top of the wall and over to give Lansing a 5-3 lead.

Benson led a near-comeback charge in the top of the ninth against reliever Will McAffer. Freeman smoked a one-out double to the left-centerfield gap, his third hit of the day, to start the rally. Benson followed with a line drive single into right that scored Freeman and cut Lansing's lead to one run.

The Lugnuts called on right-hander Cre Finfrock to relieve McAffer after Benson's single. With Nelson at the plate, Benson swiped second base to put the tying run in scoring position. Finfrock got Nelson to pop out to left, but Benson stole third to move the tying run 90 feet from home. Finfrock, however, struck out Reeves looking to end the ballgame. The right-hander earned his first save of the year after nailing down the final two outs.

Rees (2-0) earned the win for Lansing. The right-hander pitched two perfect innings of relief and struck out five of the six batters he faced.

Echols (0-1) suffered a loss and a blown save. He pitched 2/3 of an inning and was responsible for three runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.

Despite the loss, Benson, Freeman, Holmes and Jerez turned in exceptional performances at the plate. All four had multiple-hit games, led by three each by Benson and Freeman. Benson finished 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, a game-high two RBI and a walk. He is the second Captain this year to steal three bases in a game, joining Ruben Cardenas.

Freeman was 3-for-5 on Monday with a double and a run scored. His day was highlighted by a 15-pitch at-bat in the fifth, in which the Captains' shortstop fouled off 10 pitches before singling to centerfield.

Holmes had a well-rounded day for Lake County. In addition to his home run and leaping catch at the wall, the Captains' centerfielder also had a bunt single for a two-hit day.

Jerez homered for the second day in a row and also doubled in the ballgame. He, Holmes, Freeman and Benson tallied the Captains' multi-hit games on Monday.

The Captains split their four-game series in Lansing and are 6-3 to start their 12-game, 11-day road trip. Lake County wraps up its season-long trip with three games in South Bend, IN against the South Bend Cubs. The series begins on Tuesday at Four Winds Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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.

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