Road trip ends with 9-2 loss to Bees

(Burlington, IA) - The Lake County Captains (11-13, 38-55) finished up their six-game road trip on a sour note with a 9-2 loss to the Burlington Bees (11-14, 42-52) on Monday night. Bees starter Andrew Vinson shut down the Captains over five innings and the hot bats of Artemis Kadkhodaian and Richie Fecteau led Burlington to a victory in the rubber game of the three-game series at Community Field.
Vinson retired the first eight batters he faced and held Lake County hitless until Li-Jen Chu smacked a two-out single in the fourth. The right-hander kept the Captains scoreless in five strong innings of work, during which he only allowed two hits and did not walk a batter. Vinson (6-8) struck out four and, thanks to a stellar offensive performance by his teammates, picked up the win.

Burlington's offense threatened in the first two innings, but came up empty. The Bees squandered a leadoff double by Jahmai Jones in the first and could not capitalize in the second with nobody out and runners on second and third. In the third, however, Jones keyed another threat with a leadoff double and came around to score the game's first run two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Sam McDonnell.
The Bees tacked on two runs in a hurry in the fourth inning. After Fecteau led off the frame with a single, Kadkhodaian hit a two-run home run that cleared the left field wall. Kadkhodaian's long ball gave Burlington a 3-0 lead.
Fecteau gave Burlington a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning, but was also cut down on the basepaths thanks to a strong relay by Lake County. Jack Kruger hit a leadoff single and McDonnell worked a walk. After Captains starter Luis Jimenez got Brennan Morgan to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play, Kruger moved up to third base and Fecteau singled him home. Kadkhodaian came up next and ripped a double down the left field line. Fecteau tried to score from first base, but Jose Medina fired to Alexis Pantoja who threw a strike to Logan Ice at the plate to retire Fecteau with the final out of the inning.
The Captains relished the chance to face someone other than Vinson in the sixth. With reliever Kyle Halbohn on the mound, Miguel Eladio hit a one-out single and Mitch Longo pulled an RBI triple down the right field line. Chu then knocked in Longo with a ground out to cut Burlington's lead to 4-2.
The Bees scored the final five runs of the ballgame. The home team plated four runs in the sixth inning against reliever Ryder Ryan. John Schuknecht led off with a solo homer. Later in the inning, McDonnell plated a pair of runs with a double and Morgan singled home McDonnell to give the Bees an 8-2 lead. Morgan was later thrown out at third base to end the inning when Conner Capel fired a strike to third base to nab Morgan trying to go from first to third base on Fecteau's fourth single.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Bees loaded the bases against Captains right-hander Dalbert Siri with two outs. The reliever got ahead of Fecteau 1-2, but then hit the lefty batter to force home Derek Jenkins and give Burlington a 9-2 advantage.
Fecteau helped drive the offense with four singles, plus a hit-by-pitch, in a four-for-four performance with two RBI and a run scored. Kadkhodaian also had three hits and finished just a triple away from the cycle. The second baseman singled in the second, homered in the fourth and doubled in the fifth. He had two chances to complete the cycle, but flied out in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Jimenez (2-3) took the loss for the Captains. The right-hander pitched five innings and surrendered four runs on 10 hits. Jimenez walked one and struck out one.
The Captains went 2-4 on their six-game road trip and will head home to begin a six-game home stand on Wednesday night against the Kane County Cougars. First pitch of the home stand opener is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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). 12- and 20-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.