Boyd, Fascia Homer for First Time This Season, Captains Win 9-3

EASTLAKE, OH – In the fifth game of a scheduled six-game series, the Lake County Captains (20-12) defeated the Dayton Dragons (13-19) on Saturday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

With this victory, the Captains have now moved into a tie for first place in the Midwest League East with the Great Lakes Loons.

After the Captains fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning, Lake County’s offense responded with seven unanswered runs, and the team did not look back.

With runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the second inning, CF Justin Boyd hit a go-ahead, three-run home run to opposite field on the first pitch of the night he saw. This was his first homer of the season, which gave him RBI numbers five through seven on the year.

Two innings later, SS Alex Mooney, MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 Cleveland prospect, hit a two-out RBI single to stretch the Captains’ lead to 4-2. He then recorded another in the bottom of the sixth inning, which began a three-run rally from Lake County. These hits gave Mooney his 19^th and 20^th RBI of the season, respectively, and extended his hitting streak to seven games.

Three batters later, Captains 1B Maick Collado hit a two-out, two-run single to grow Lake County’s lead to 7-2.

The Captains then added their final two runs of the night in the bottom of the seventh inning. After RF Angel Zarate led off the half-inning with a walk, C Zac Fascia hit a two-run home run to right field. This was the 25-year-old’s first homer of the year.

Lake County RHP Austin Peterson (5-1) earned his fifth win of the season. The right-hander began his night by allowing a leadoff double to Dayton CF Jacob Hurtubise, MLB Pipeline’s No. 24 Cincinnati prospect. Then, LF Jay Allen II, MLB Pipeline’s No. 25 Cincinnati prospect, hit an RBI triple to put the Dragons on the board first. He eventually scored on a wild pitch.

But Peterson settled in after these two hits, retiring the next 19 Dayton batters he faced. The 24-year-old ultimately pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs, and no walks, while throwing five strikeouts in 89 pitches (64 strikes). This performance gave Peterson his fourth consecutive quality start.

Finally, Captains RHP Zach Jacobs pitched two scoreless frames of relief, retiring six of seven Dragons batters he faced. His lone blemish was a two-out single by Hurtubise in the top of the eighth inning.

First pitch for the finale of this week’s scheduled six-game series between the Captains and Dragons is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. Lake County will host We Love Moms Day at the ballpark, where the first 500 moms will receive a carnation, and moms get to run the bases after the game. It will also be Family Fun Sunday, presented by Classic Auto Group, which will feature pregame player autographs and catch on the field, plus postgame kids run the bases. The game will be broadcast on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on both X and Instagram.

Notes To Know

- With his start on Saturday night, RHP Austin Peterson is now tied for the Midwest League lead with five wins, while ranking second in the league with 41 strikeouts, and has issued just three walks so far this season. The right-hander is the sixth professional pitcher with at least five wins, at least 40 strikeouts, and three-or-fewer walks through 32 team games since at least 2005.

- As a team, the Captains hit 4-for-12 with two outs on Saturday night, which included a pair of two-out RBI singles from INF Alex Mooney, and a two-run single from INF Maick Collado. Lake County is now hitting .280 with two outs this season, which leads all teams ranging from High-A through MLB.

- With a walk and a two-run single on Saturday night, INF Maick Collado extended his on-base streak to 19 games, which is the longest by a Captain this season and second-longest active streak in the Midwest League. During this span, the 21-year-old has tallied a .323 batting average, 18 walks, and a .488 on-base percentage.

- Both OF Justin Boyd and C Zac Fascia each hit their first home run of the season on Saturday night. Boyd hit his first homer since June 4, 2023 versus Quad Cities, while Fascia hit his first since August 3, 2023 at West Michigan.

- With a Captains win and Great Lakes Loons loss on Saturday, the two teams are now tied for first place in the Midwest League East standings. This marks Lake County’s first time possessing at least a share of first place in the Midwest League East standings since April 12, when the Captains had sole possession of first place.

The Lake County Captains are the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and have been a Class A Affiliate of Cleveland since the team was founded in 2003. To find out more information about the Captains or purchase tickets, visit CaptainsBaseball.com, or call (440) 975-8085.