Shane stymies Lansing in shutout victory

(Eastlake, OH) - Casey Shane got all the offense he needed early and the Lake County Captains rode the right-hander's strong start to a shutout victory over the Lansing Lugnuts on Sunday night at Classic Park. Andrew Calica homered in the first and Shane tossed six scoreless innings to lead Lake County to a 3-0 win in the penultimate game of the 2016 season.

Calica gave the Captains a jolt just three batters into the bottom of the first. Lugnuts starter T.J. Zeuch hit Sam Haggerty with a pitch and, two batters later, Calica connected for a long drive over the right field wall to give the Captains a 2-0 lead. The homer was Calica's first with Lake County and the third of his professional career.

The Captains added one more run in the third inning on an RBI ground out by Martin Cervenka and Shane took the torch from there. After pitching perfect frames in the first two innings, Shane faced the minimum again in the third. Though he gave up his first hit of the night, a leadoff single by Lane Thomas, the right-hander retired the next two men and Juan De La Cruz threw out Thomas trying to steal second to end the inning.

Shane handled his first real adversity in the fifth inning, but was able to pitch yet another scoreless frame. With two outs, Shane hit Thomas and walked Connor Panas. The right-hander poured water on the fire, however. He struck out Ryan Metzler to end the inning. Shane then pitched a one-two-three sixth, finishing his night by striking Woodman out looking.

Shawn Armstrong pitched a scoreless and hitless seventh with three strikeouts and Cortland Cox took care of the eighth and ninth. Cox gave up a bunt single in the eighth, but struck out a pair. Lansing threatened in the ninth, putting runners on the corners with one out. Cox was equal to the task, though. He struck out Carl Wise swinging and then got Thomas looking to end the game. Cox picked up his first save of the year with back-to-back scoreless innings.

Shane (9-12) earned the win in his final start of the season. The right-hander did not allow a run and gave up just two singles over six frames. Shane hit a batter, walked one and struck out four.

Zeuch (0-1) pitched well, but took the loss. The Lugnuts' starter lasted five innings and gave up three runs on three hits. He struck out seven, walked one and hit two batters.

The Captains and Lugnuts are both out of playoff contention and will play their final game of the season on Monday afternoon. After Lake County and Lansing split the first two games of this three-game series, Monday's contest will be the rubber match. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Classic Park.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Season tickets, 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2017 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.