Ison delivers walk-off in comeback 9th

(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains rallied from behind in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night and, in the end, it was Bobby Ison who delivered the heroics. With the Captains trailing by a run in the ninth, Ison drilled a two-run single to right, propelling Lake County to a 5-4 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps at Classic Park.

The Whitecaps entered the ninth inning with a 4-2 lead and right-handed reliever Ryan Milton came out to pitch for a second straight inning. After retiring the Captains in order in the eighth, however, Milton just could not get an out in the ninth. Martin Cervenka led off with an infield single to deep shortstop and David Armendariz followed with a sharp single to left. With the tying run on base and nobody out, the Captains were in a bunting situation, but it turned out they never needed to sacrifice. Milton balked, moving Cervenka to third and Armendariz to second base.

Sam Haggerty was at the plate when Milton balked and the switch-hitter was a base-hit away from tying the game. Haggerty could not get the ball out of the infield, but he hustled his way to a hit and an RBI. The switch-hitter chopped a grounder to shortstop and beat the throw from Leo Laffita. Cervenka scored from third to trim the Whitecaps' lead to one run and Armendariz moved to third base.

West Michigan made a quick call to the bullpen and brought in right-hander Mark Ecker to try to get out of trouble. Ecker, however, worked himself into more trouble when he threw a pitch in the dirt and Haggerty took second base on a wild pitch. With runners on second and third with nobody out, Ison slammed a ground ball past the dive of West Michigan first baseman Will Allen. Armendariz scored from third with the tying run and Haggerty slid home with the winning run. It was Lake County's eighth walk-off win of the year.

Ison's game-winning knock capped off a solid day at the dish for the Lake County left fielder. Way back in the fifth inning, it was Ison who put the Captains on the scoreboard with the first run of the game when he belted a solo home run to right-center. The long ball against Whitecaps starter Eudis Idrogo gave the Captains a 1-0 lead.

The Captains' lead was very short-lived, as a wild play gave West Michigan the lead in the sixth. Captains starter Triston McKenzie was cruising with just one hit allowed through the first five innings, but Laffita led off the sixth with a single and David Gonzalez added a single with one out. With two men on and one out, Brett Pirtle hit a line drive to right field and Armendariz looked poised to make the catch and make a play on Laffita, who would be tagging up from third. As Armendariz approached the ball, however, the glove flew off his hand and the ball skipped to the wall. Two runs scored on the double by Pirtle and the Whitecaps took a 2-1 lead. The next batter, Allen, added a run with a double to make it 3-1.

Lake County promptly got one run back in the bottom of the inning and Armendariz got a little redemption. Willi Castro roped a double to the left field corner to start the inning and was still on second base when Armendariz came to the plate with two outs. Armendariz slammed a deep drive to centerfield that just barely missed clearing the wall. Castro scored and Armendariz chugged to third with a triple, cutting the Whitecaps' lead to 3-2.

West Michigan tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning courtesy of a clout by Cam Gibson. With Devon Stewart on the hill for Lake County, Gibson unloaded a long solo homer over the right field wall with two outs to push the West Michigan lead back to two runs.

The Captains' comeback gave Kieran Lovegrove the victory after the right-hander performed well in relief. Lovegrove (4-3) pitched two scoreless frames and allowed just one walk and one hit, while recording one strikeout.

Milton (0-1) suffered the loss, as the tying and winning runs were both his responsibility, despite the fact that Ecker was on the hill when the winning hit was recorded. Milton pitched a perfect eighth, but could not get an out in the ninth. He allowed three runs on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts.

McKenzie did not factor in the decision in his Classic Park debut, but the right-hander turned in his second consecutive quality start. The seventh-ranked prospect in the Cleveland Indians' organization lasted six innings and allowed just three runs, all in the sixth, on just five hits. He struck out seven and walked one. He has now struck out 26 and walked just one man in 18 innings in a Captains uniform.

The Captains have won two in a row against West Michigan and will try to win their third straight when the take on the Whitecaps in a Wednesday matinee at Classic Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-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.