Six-Run Rally Sparks Captains Comeback Win
September 12, 2021 - High-A Central League (High-A Central) - Lake County Captains News Release
(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (61-53) scored six runs on one hit in the bottom of the seventh inning to come from behind and beat the Dayton Dragons (59-55) 7-5 on Sunday night at Classic Park.
The Dragons struck first in the fourth inning. After Captains starter Mason Hickman tossed three scoreless frames, Dayton shortstop Matt McLain led off the fourth with a single. He then stole second and third before scoring on a two-out single by Juan Martinez to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.
The Captains tied the score in the bottom of the fifth. Reliever Sam Hellinger came in to relieve starter James Proctor and immediately walked Julian Escobedo on four pitches. Hellinger then hit Christian Cairo with the next pitch. Two batters later, Micah Pries slammed a ground ball single into center. Escobedo scored from second to even the score at 1-1.
A grand slam by Jonathan Willems put Dayton in front in the top of the sixth. With two outs in the inning, Hickman allowed a single to Victor Ruiz and walked the next two batters, Jacob Hurtubise and Mariel Bautista. Nathan Ocker relieved Hickman with the bags full and Willems took a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall to give the Dragons a 5-1 lead.
Lake County took advantage of Dayton miscues to take the lead in the seventh. Cairo got hit by a pitch and Joe Naranjo reached on a bloop single. With one out Johnathan Rodriguez got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mike Amditis got the job done for the Captains with a bases loaded walk to bring Cairo home. After a strikeout of José Tena for the second out Aaron Bracho drew another bases loaded walk to plate Naranjo and make the score 5-3, Dragons. The third Dayton reliever of the inning entered, but Pedro Garcia threw a wild pitch that allowed Rodríguez from third base to cut the deficit to one run. Jhonkensy Noel was intentionally walked to load the bases. Escobedo stepped to the plate and pulled a ground ball to the right side. Dayton second baseman Ivan Johnson made a diving play to his left but Juan Martinez couldn't handle his throw to first for an error and the ball rolled into foul ground. Both Amditis and Bracho scored on the error by the first baseman Martinez to put Lake County infront 6-5. With Escobedo up to second and Noel on third another wild pitch was issued which brought in Noel to push the Captains lead to 7-5 and ended the six run inning.
Ocker (6-0) earned the win out of the Lake County bullpen. He struck out two and allowed one run on one hit over 1.1 innings.
John Ghyzel (2-2) took the loss for Dayton. He allowed three runs, two were earned on two walks. He did not allow a hit during his 0.1 inning worked with one strikeout.
Zach Draper (2) worked the final two innings to earn the save. He did not allow a run on two hits with one strikeout.
After a day off on Monday, the Captains begin their final series of the 2021 regular season. Lake County hosts the Beloit Snappers for a six-game series beginning on Tuesday. First pitch at Classic Park is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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High-A Central League Stories from September 12, 2021
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- Dayton Dragons Game Notes for Sunday - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Information: September 12 vs. Lansing - Fort Wayne TinCaps
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- Whitecaps Secure Series Split in 6-4 Win - West Michigan Whitecaps
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