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MWL1 Lake County Captains

Mota Completes Game One, Captains Split

July 1, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Comstock Park, MI) - The Lake County Captains (7-4, 47-33) and West Michigan Whitecaps (5-6, 26-54) split a doubleheader on Monday. Juan Mota pitched a complete game, two-hitter in game one to lead the Captains to a 5-1 win. A trio of Whitecaps pitchers one-hit the Captains to take game two, 5-1. The Captains lost two out of three games in their series against West Michigan at Fifth Third Ballpark.

Game One

Mota (2-5) pitched the Captains' first seven-inning complete game in exactly two years, holding the Whitecaps to one run on two hits. The right-hander struck out eight hitters and did not issue a walk, en route to the victory. Mota retired the first seven batters he faced and, after allowing two straight hits in the third, set down the last 13 batters in a row. The last seven-inning complete game by a Captain was pitched by Tanner Tully against the Bowling Green Hot Rods on July 1, 2017.

The Captains' offense struck first in the third inning against West Michigan right-hander Hugh Smith. Makesionson Kelkboom and Quentin Holmes hit back-to-back one-out singles. Bo Naylor then knocked in Kelkboom with a single and Jose Fermin plated Holmes with a sacrifice fly to right to give the Captains a 2-0 lead.

West Michigan scored its only run on its first hit. With one out and nobody aboard in the third, Clark Brinkman homered to left field to cut the Captains' lead to 2-1. Wenceel Perez followed with a single, but that was the last hit by a Whitecap. Perez was caught stealing later in the inning.

Lake County added another run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Hosea Nelson dribbled an infield single down the third base line to start the fourth. The Captains loaded the bases on a single by Miguel Jerez and a walk to Daniel Schneemann. A wild pitch brought Nelson home. In the fifth, Nelson drove home Fermin with a double to push the Captains' lead to 5-1.

Smith (0-4) took the loss for West Michigan. He pitched four innings and allowed three runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Game Two

Sandel De La Cruz, Yaya Chentouf and Angel Reyes combined to one-hit Lake County. De La Cruz started and held the Captains to one unearned run on one hit. Chentouf (2-3) earned the win, pitching 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings with three strikeouts and no walks. Reyes set down the Captains in order in the seventh to seal the one-hit win for West Michigan.

The Whitecaps broke a scoreless deadlock in the third. Sam McMillan led off with a single off of Captains starter Skylar Arias. Later in the inning, McMillan was on third with two outs when Andre Lipcius battled with Arias for 10 pitches before singling to center on the 11th pitch to bring home McMillan.

Jonathan Engelmann ended the Whitecaps' no-hit bid and tied the game in the fifth. De La Cruz had allowed just one baserunner - Cody Farhat reached on a hit-by-pitch in the third - through four innings. Engelmann led off the fifth with a double down the left field line. After De La Cruz issued a two-out walk to Schneemann, Chentouf came in from the bullpen to take over. Henry Pujols hit a bouncing ball to third that Nick Quintana bobbled. The third baseman recovered, but rushed his throw to first and the ball skipped past Rey Rivera. Engelmann scored on the error, but Rivera flagged the ball down and threw Schneemann out at home to end the inning. The run tied the score at 1-1.

West Michigan regained the lead in the fifth. Luis Araujo had struck out the side the fourth, his first inning out of the bullpen. In the fifth, however, the right-hander was unable to record an out. McMillan and Brinkman began the frame with back-to-back singles. Perez then dropped down a sacrifice bunt toward third, but Pujols' throw to first was low and pulled Schneemann, the second baseman, off the bag at first. With the bases loaded, Araujo walked Lipcius and Quintana to bring home McMillan and Brinkman. Manuel Alvarez relieved Araujo after the walks and the Whitecaps scored two runs on his watch. Ulrich Bojarski drove in Perez with a sacrifice fly to right and a fielder's choice off the bat of Dayton Dugas scored Lipcius to give the Whitecaps a 5-1 lead.

Araujo (1-3) took the loss. He allowed four runs, two earned, over one inning. The right-hander allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three.

The Captains head back home on Tuesday to start a brief, two-game homestand. Lake County takes on the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Classic Park.

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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