Captains, Cubs split pair of pitcher's duels

(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (10-6) split their doubleheader with the South Bend Cubs (8-8) on Saturday at Classic Park. After taking a 1-0 loss in game one, the Captains captured game two, 3-1.

Game One
Captains starter Alex Royalty and Cubs starter Riley Thompson shut down their respective opponents across five lights-out innings. Thompson needed only 57 pitches to toss five scoreless frames. Royalty surrendered just one run over his five innings and neither hurler surrendered a well-struck hit.
The Cubs struck for the game's only run in the top of the fifth. Delvin Zinn hit a hard grounder down the third base line that Jesse Berardi knocked down on a diving play. Berardi could not corral the ball cleanly, but kept Zinn on first with a single. Zinn then stole second base and advanced to third on a hard-hit infield single by Eric Gonzalez. That brought up the top of the order with runners on the corners and one out for D.J. Artis. The Cubs' left fielder played small ball, laying down his second successful bunt and collecting an RBI single, as Zinn scored from third and the Captains had no play on Artis at first.
Thompson (2-0) earned the victory after holding the Captains scoreless on just three hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out five, did not issue a walk and surrendered just three hits. Ethan Roberts nailed down his fourth save of the year by blanking the Captains over the final two innings.
Royalty (0-1) took a hard-luck loss. He only allowed one run over five innings and scattered four Cubs singles, two of which were bunt base hits by Artis. Royalty struck out five and walked two.
Game Two
Captains right-hander Luis Oviedo took on Cubs lefty Fausto Carrera in the back end of Saturday's doubleheader and Oviedo helped Lake County avenge its game-one loss. The Captains' hurler spun a season-high six innings, en route to a narrow, 3-1 win over the Cubs to secure the doubleheader split and clinch a series win.
The Captains provided Oviedo with early run support, scoring a run in each of the first three innings. In the first, as Bo Naylor walked to the plate, Tyler Freeman bolted for third base and Ruben Cardenas took off for second. Carrera threw the ball away at third, allowing Freeman to score and Cardenas to move from first to third, as the Captains grabbed a 1-0 lead.
Angel Lopez extended the Captains' lead to 2-0 in the second. With two outs and the bases empty, the Lake County catcher drilled a solo home run to the back of the left field bleachers for his first homer of the year.
The Cubs got a run back in the top of the third on a two-out Captains error. Cole Roederer kept the inning alive with a two-out single and Andy Weber took a ball deep the warning track in centerfield. Quentin Holmes raced back to the wall, but dropped the ball and Roederer scored from first, cutting the Captains' lead to 2-1.
Freeman got that run right back for Lake County in the bottom of the frame. The Captains' shortstop came to the plate with one out and the bases empty against Carrera. On an 0-2 pitch, Freeman hit his first home run as a Captain, a fly ball that landed in the left field bleachers to push the Lake County lead to 3-1.
Oviedo (3-1) earned the victory after spinning six innings and allowing just one unearned run. He surrendered just two hits, struck out five and walked three. Dakody Clemmer came in to get the save and retired the side in order to secure the win. Clemmer picked up his third save and the Captains grabbed the series with a 3-1 victory in game two.
Carrera (1-1) suffered the loss for South Bend. The left-hander pitched four innings and was responsible for all three Captains runs, two of which were earned. He gave up three hits, struck out six and walked one.
The Captains return to action on Monday night to start a three-game series with the Dayton Dragons. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Classic Park.
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.