Captains out-slug Hot Rods in 9-3 win

(Bowling Green, KY) - The Lake County Captains took advantage of their opportunities on Saturday night in a 9-3 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark. The Captains turned three Hot Rods errors into six unanswered runs and Tyler Krieger clubbed the first home run of his professional career, as Lake County snapped Bowling Green's six-game winning streak.

The ballgame went back-and-forth in the early goings. The Captains scored three runs in the top of the first inning on a two-run double by Francisco Mejia and a sacrifice fly by Connor Marabell, but the Hot Rods tied the game immediately with three runs in the bottom of the first. David Rodriguez hit an RBI double and Brett Sullivan, who had hit a home run in both games of Friday's doubleheader, hit a two-run home run to even the score at 3-3.

Lake County went right back out in front in the second inning thanks to Bowling Green's first error. With one out, Sam Haggerty struck out on a pitch in the dirt, but Rodriguez airmailed the throw to first, allowing Haggerty to reach. Bowling Green starting pitcher Michael Velasquez then hit Bobby Ison with a pitch and Ka'ai Tom singled to load the bases. Willi Castro promptly hit a hot-shot grounder to third base, but Bowling Green was only able to get one out, the force out at second, and Haggerty scored to give Lake County a 4-3 lead.

Krieger came up next with two men on and launched a fly ball down the left field line that landed in the Bowling Green bullpen for a three-run homer. Krieger's first professional homer pushed the Captains' lead to 7-3. All four of the Captains' runs in the second inning were unearned, as a result of Rodriguez's throwing error.

The Captains added two more unearned runs later, one in the fourth and one in the eighth, to put the game out of reach. In the fourth, with Haggerty on first and two outs, Castro hit a line drive to right field and Haggerty raced from first to third base. As Haggerty approached third, Manny Sanchez bobbled the ball in right, allowing Haggerty to score. In the eighth, a one-out error proved costly, as Bobby Ison grounded a bases-loaded RBI single into centerfield with two outs to put the Captains up, 9-3.

Matt Whitehouse earned the victory in relief for Lake County. After Matt Esparza pitched the first four innings and gave up three runs, Whitehouse (1-0) tossed three straight shutout frames. The left-hander struck out five men and only allowed one hit and one walk in the winning effort. Whitehouse dropped his team-best ERA to 0.44.

The Captains handed Velasquez (0-4) his fourth loss of the season. Velasquez pitched five innings and allowed eight runs, though only three of them were earned. Velasquez struck out six men and Lake County tallied six hits against the left-hander.

After losing both games of Friday's doubleheader, the Captains' win on Saturday gives them a chance to split the four-game series with a win on Sunday. First pitch on Sunday at Bowling Green Ballpark is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Full season tickets plans, 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.