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MWL1 Lake County Captains

Pitching Brilliant Again in One-Run Loss

July 4, 2018 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Dayton, OH) - The Lake County Captains (5-9, 34-50) got more terrific pitching and showed fight late in the ballgame, but lost by one to the Dayton Dragons (7-7, 38-44) on Independence Day at Fifth Third Field. Dayton did not produce a single RBI hit, but managed to edge the Captains, 3-2.

Right-hander *Gregori Vasquez* gave Lake County its seventh consecutive strong start. Vasquez held Dayton to one unearned run over five innings to drop the starting rotation's ERA to 1.22 over the last seven contests.

His lone blemish came in the second. The Dragons put runners on first and second, thanks to a pair of walks to J.D. Williams and Mark Kolozsvary. With two outs, Alejo Lopez hit a chopper between first and second. Second baseman *Jesse Berardi* ranged to his left, but could not field the ball cleanly and Williams scored the first run of the game on a fielding error.

After Vasquez exited, Dayton pushed its lead to 2-0 in the sixth. Williams hit a two-out triple off of *Nick Gallagher* and, on a 3-2 pitch to Kolozsvary that skipped in the dirt, scored on a wild pitch. Following the walk, Gallagher left the ballgame due to injury. The right-hander threw one pitch to the next batter, Alejo, and exited. *Luis Jimenez* came in and ultimately finished the game.

Meanwhile, Dayton starter Packy Naughton was lights-out. The lefty shut out the Captains over seven innings. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out five. In the seventh, the Captains mounted their only substantial threat against Naughton, but the southpaw escaped.

Lake County loaded the bases in the seventh with nobody out thanks to a single by *Oscar Gonzalez* that glanced off of Naughton's leg, a grounder to second by *Jose Medina* that Jeter Downs bobbled and a walk to *Will Benson*. *Miguel Eladio* came up next and hit a fly ball to shallow left field. Andy Sugilio caught the ball and fired home. Gonzalez tagged from third base, but stopped after a couple of steps toward home and headed back to third. Meanwhile, Medina tagged from second base and raced halfway to third before he saw that Gonzalez was still there. Kolozsvary fielded the throw from left and threw to Downs at second. Downs tagged out Medina for the double play and Naughton got Berardi to ground out to second to end the inning.

The Captains fought back and tied the score against the Dayton bullpen in the eighth. *Todd Isaacs* started the rally with a one-out double to the wall in left-center and Right-hander Ryan Nutof walked *Elvis Perez*. Isaacs and Perez took off on a double steal and made it safely to put runners on second and third for *Jonathan Laureano*. The Captains' catcher bounced a grounder to Downs at second, allowing Isaacs to score on the ground out and moving Perez to third with the tying run.

The Dragons called on righty Miguel Aguilar to come in from the bullpen and preserve the 2-1 lead. With Perez 90 feet away and two outs, Gonzalez came through. He laced a single to left field, scoring Perez to knot the score at 2-2.

Dayton scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, again without the benefit of an RBI hit. Downs led off the inning with a towering fly ball to the left field corner. Gonzalez lost the ball in the sky and it fell a few feet in front of him for a double. Leandro Santana came up next and hit a chopper to third. Perez made a terrific backhand scoop on a short hop and fired to first for the out. Downs then hustled to third and Captains first baseman *Ulysses Cantu* fired across the diamond. Cantu's throw was wild and Eladio, who had raced from shortstop to cover third, could not make the diving catch. The ball glanced off his glove and rolled toward the third base coach's box. Downs climbed to his feet and scampered home with the go-ahead run.

Dragons closer John Ghyzel set down the Captains in order in the ninth. Santana robbed Benson of extra bases with a diving stop at first to begin the inning before Ghyzel got Eladio to bounce to third and Berardi to ground out softly to first. The right-hander sealed his league-leading 15th save of the year and notched a win for Dayton in another one-run game. Lake County and Dayton have now played 10 one-run games out of 14 meetings in the season series this year. Each of their last three games have been decided by one run.

Aguilar (2-0) was charged with a blown save, but still picked up the win in relief. He only recorded one out in the eighth, getting Medina to pop out in foul territory at third to end the inning.

Jimenez (0-1) took the loss. He pitched 2.1 innings and held the Dragons to one run on one hit. He struck out a pair and did not walk a batter.

The Captains finish their four-game, home-and-home series with Dayton on Thursday night at Fifth Third Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Lake County needs a win to split the series.

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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