Captains and Dragons split in return to baseball in Dayton

(Dayton, OH) - After Sunday's game was postponed in wake of the tragic shooting in Dayton on Sunday morning, the Lake County Captains (23-20, 63-49) and Dayton Dragons (20-23, 48-65) returned to baseball on Monday with a doubleheader at Fifth Third Field. The Captains won game one, 13-7, and lost game two, 1-0.

Game One
The Captains overcame a five-run deficit and outscored the Dragons, 12-1, after the second inning to win the opener of Monday's twin bill.
Bo Naylor gave Lake County an early lead with a first-inning solo homer, but the Dragons bounced back with six runs in the bottom of the first. Mariel Bautista hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first over the left field wall to tie the game, beginning a string of four consecutive extra-base hits. Michael Siani followed with a triple to left-center before Brian Rey and Morgan Lofstrom delivered back-to-back RBI doubles. After Captains starter Thomas Ponticelli walked Juan Martinez, Cameron Warren pulled a two-run double down the left field line. Ponticelli retired the next two men, but an error by second baseman Jose Fermin on a grounder by Randy Ventura allowed Warren to score to give Dayton a 6-1 lead.
Quentin Holmes cut into Dayton's lead with a two-run big fly in the top of the second that sailed over the left field wall. The Dragons, however, scored another run in the bottom of the second. Siani reached on an infield single and stole second. Ponticell picked off to second and the throw skipped into centerfield, then under Holmes' glove, allowing Siani to score on the two-error play to extend the Dragons' lead to 7-3.
The Captains scored 10 unanswered runs from the fifth through the seventh. Lake County tied the game in the fifth with a four-run rally. Clark Scolamiero led off with a single and scored on a double by Naylor. Fermin then followed with a single and Jonathan Engelmann knocked him in with a double. The Dragons then went to the bullpen, calling on lefty Jerry D'Andrea to relieve right-handed reliever Eddie Demurias. Josh Rolette then worked a walk and a bouncing ball to first off the bat of Daniel Schneemann skipped off of Warren and down the right field line. Both Fermin and Engelmann scored on the error to knot the score at 7-7.
Lake County grabbed the lead in the sixth. Scolamiero again began the inning with a single and Naylor sacrifice bunted him to second. Demuriaas hit Fermin with a pitch and Engelmann's RBI single brought home Scolamiero to put the Captains ahead. With runners on second and third, Demurias then got Rolette to go around on a check swing for strike three, but the ball glanced off of Lofstrom's glove for a passed ball. Fermin scored and Engelmann went to third. Schneemann then drove in Engelmann with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to center by Billy Wilson plated Rolette to extend the Captains' lead to 11-7.
The Captains tacked on two more runs in the seventh and Rolette extended his multi-RBI streak in the process. With two outs and runners on second and third, Rolette hit a slow grounder to second. Ventura went to barehand the ball, but it rolled under him for a single and both Scolamiero and Fermin scored. The Captains stretched their lead to 13-7 and Rolette pushed his multi-RBI streak to four games with nine RBI across that span.
Captains reliever Brendan Meyer picked up the win in game one. Meyer (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings and surrendered one hit with two strikeouts and no walks.
D'Andrea (0-3) took the loss. The lefty pitched three innings and allowed six runs, three earned, on three hits. D'Andrea struck out six and walked three.
Game Two
Alex Royalty and Connor Curlis were tangled in a pitcher's duel until Brian Rey's sixth-inning home run lifted Dayton to a 1-0 victory.
Royalty (5-6) was ultra-efficient and took a hard-luck loss. The right-hander needed just 75 pitches to navigate six innings. He used fewer than 15 pitches in four different frames, including a five-pitch third. Royalty allowed just one run on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Curlis (4-3) struck out a career-high 10 men and held the Captains scoreless over six innings to earn the win. The left-hander gave up just two hits, both of which were fourth-inning singles, and did not issue a walk. He also escaped a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the fourth. Right-hander Clate Schmidt picked up his second save, working around a leadoff single and a two-out walk to leave the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first.
Rey's game-winning home run came with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. The Dragons' second baseman lifted a fly ball down the left field line and over the wall for the game's only run.
The Captains and Dragons split their doubleheader and Lake County will try to split the series on Tuesday night. The finale of the four-game set is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at Fifth Third Field.
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). Mini ticket plans for the 2019 season are still available for great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.