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MWL1 Lake County Captains

Reeves Caps Teeter-Totter Game with Walk-Off in 10th

April 24, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lake County Captains News Release


(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (12-7) battled back-and-forth for 10 innings with the Dayton Dragons (7-12) on Wednesday and came out on top with their first walk-off win of 2019. Though the Dragons led on four separate occasions, the Captains fought back every time and earned a 7-6 win when Mitch Reeves delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 10th.

Dayton grabbed its first lead in the second inning against Captains starter Shane McCarthy. Shard Munroe reached first on a one-out walk and advanced to second when McCarthy mishandled a throw back to the mound and the ball rolled into centerfield. Hernandez later ripped a single to center and Munroe came across to score the game's first run. Dragon third baseman Juan Martinez came up next and batted in Hernandez with a single to right field making the score 2-0.

McCarthy held the Dragons in check the rest of the way and kept Lake County in the game. The right-hander worked six innings for the second start in a row and did not allow any more runs outside of the two-run second inning. With McCarthy holding serve, the Captains charged back.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Captains mounted their first comeback, which began with a one-out walk to Jose Fermin. Tyler Freeman kept the early-inning momentum going with a double to put two men in scoring position. Will Benson came up next and hit a soft chopper to hit to third base, but hustled down the line and beat the throw from Martinez. Benson got tangled up with Dragons first baseman Bren Spillane on the play and Fermin hustled home from third. Spillane, conscious of the situation, made a throw home, but it was not in time. Shortly thereafter, Freeman scored on a wild pitch to tie the game and Benson moved up to second. Reeves then yanked a double down the left field line and Benson came home to give Lake County its first lead at 3-2. Benson left the game after the fifth-inning rally and was relieved in right field by Ruben Cardenas.

The Captains maintained their one-run lead until Dayton's half of the eighth. Mariel Bautista reached on an infield single and Michael Siani bunted his way aboard. Jay Schuyler then hit an RBI single on a ground ball to left field that scored Bautista to tie the game and Munroe belted a sacrifice fly to Quentin Holmes in centerfield that plated Siani with the go-ahead run to put Dayton in front again, 4-3.

Lake County wasted no time to even the score. Holmes doubled to left field to begin the bottom of the eighth and Hosea Nelson followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Holmes to third. Nelson, however, ended up at first base when Martinez mishandled the ball at third. Fermin then lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Holmes and tied the game at 4-4.

Dayton once again had an answer and took the lead in the ninth. Hernandez led off with a single and Martinez bunted him to second base. With two outs and Hernandez on second, Bautista hit a grounder to shortstop and beat the throw to first by Freeman. The Captains' shortstop was charged with an error and Hernandez raced home from second to give Dayton a 5-4 advantage.

The Captains found themselves three outs away from defeat, but rallied again to tie the score. Reeves led off and ripped a hard grounder to third that whistled through Martinez for a two-base error. The runner then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored the tying run when Angel Lopez smacked a single into centerfield, making the score 5-5.

The Dragons punched back in the top of the 10th and grabbed a 6-5 lead with the help of the free runner, Siani, who began the inning on second base, per Minor League Baseball rules. With Siani on second, Jay Schuyler led off with an RBI single to center that scored the runner and made it 6-5, Dayton.

Finally, the Captains had an answer that decided the game in the bottom of the 10th. Holmes began the frame as the free runner on second and Nelson dropped down a bunt toward third. Dragons catcher Pabel Manzanero had no play and the Captains had men on the corners with no outs on the bunt single. Fermin then came through once again with an RBI single to center to help the Captains knot the score for the fourth time. Two batters later, Cardenas reached on an infield single to load the bases for Reeves. The Lake County first baseman drove a pitch from Connor Bennett to center that landed over Siani's head and bounced on the warning track. Nelson trotted home to win the game for the Captains.

Bennett (0-2) suffered the loss. The right-hander came on for the 10th and recorded one out, but allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with one strikeout and no walks.

Manuel Alvarez earned the win in relief for Lake County. Alvarez (1-0) pitched the top of the 10th and allowed one unearned run on one hit with one walk and one strikeout.

The top of the Captains' order drove the offense. Fermin reached base five times from the leadoff spot and went 3-for-3 with two RBI, a run and two walks. Freeman, batting second, went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and a hit-by-pitch. Reeves went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI, a run and a walk from the cleanup spot.

The Captains took two out of three games from Dayton and will hit the road to take on the West Michigan Whitecaps to begin a four-game road series on Thursday. First pitch at Fifth Third Ballpark is slated for 6:35 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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