Captains Erupt for 12 Unanswered Runs in 12-4 Win over Lugnuts

EASTLAKE, OH – After trailing 4-0 following the top of the first inning, the Lake County Captains (6-7) stormed back with 12 unanswered runs in the next three innings to earn a 12-4 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (6-8) on Saturday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

The Captains tallied season-highs of both 12 runs and 15 hits, and now have a chance to split this week’s series with a victory tomorrow. All nine Lake County hitters reached base, and eight of nine tallied at least one hit.

1B C.J. Kayfus led the Captains with a game-high four hits, extending his RBI streak to a Midwest League-best six games (tied) with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning. He also lengthened his hitting streak to six games.

RHP Zach Jacobs (2-0) earned his second win of the season for Lake County, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, allowing just two hits and one walk. Jacobs relieved RHP Carter Spivey who made his third career Minor League start. Spivey allowed three hits, four earned runs, and four walks, while not throwing a strikeout in just 0.2 innings of work.

The Captains began their scoring with five runs in the bottom of the second inning. 2B Nate Furman snuck a two-run single up the middle, eventually scoring on a wild pitch, Kayfus hit his aforementioned RBI single, and C Cooper Ingle hit into an RBI groundout to give the Captains a 5-4 lead it would not relent.

Furman struck again in the bottom of the third, slashing an RBI single for his third RBI of the game to make the score 6-4. The 2022 fourth-round pick extended his team-best hitting streak to seven games with three base knocks on the night.

One batter later, the Captains began a stretch of three homers in four at-bats when CF Jake Fox, MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 Cleveland prospect, cranked his first home run of the season to extend Lake County’s lead to 9-4.

Then, Ingle and 3B Maick Collado began the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back home runs on two straight pitches, stretching the lead to 11-4. With two outs in the frame, DH Tyresse Turner floated an RBI single into shallow center field for the game’s final run.

Pitching-wise, the Captains’ bullpen trio of Jacobs, RHP Alaska Abney, and RHP Jay Driver pitched a combined season-high 8.1 shutout innings of relief. Abney fanned four while allowing one hit in two frames. Finally, Driver pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and two walks, while throwing a pair of strikeouts.

First pitch for the finale of this week’s scheduled six-game series between the Captains and Lugnuts is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Lake County will be hosting 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

- Lake County’s 12 runs in the second, third and fourth innings are tied for its third-most in a three-inning span in the last 10 years (14, 8/2/2015 vs. Great Lakes; 13, 5/23/2023 at West Michigan; 12, 7/16/2021 vs. LAN; 12, 8/2/2015 vs. Great Lakes).

- The Captains hit at least three home runs in a game for the second time this season. Lake County hit a season-best four in a 7-2 win at Fort Wayne on April 9.

- C.J. Kayfus’ four hits were the most by a Captain since MLB Pipeline’s No. 28 overall prospect Chase DeLauter tallied four on August 30, 2023 in a 3-2 loss at Cedar Rapids.

- Nate Furman went 3-for-5 with three RBI, extending his hitting streak to seven games, the second-longest active streak in the Midwest League. The 22-year-old has roped a lead-off single in each of this series’ last three games.

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.

Contact: Logan Potosky, Play-by-Play Broadcaster & Media Relations Assistant
[email protected]