(Clinton, IA) - The Lake County Captains (12-9, 52-38) held on tight on Friday night to capture the final game of their three-game series against the Clinton LumberKings (14-7, 47-43). After losing the first two games at NelsonCorp Field, the Captains edged Clinton in the series finale, 4-3.
(Clinton, IA) - The Lake County Captains (12-9, 52-38) held on tight on Friday night to capture the final game of their three-game series against the Clinton LumberKings (14-7, 47-43). After losing the first two games at NelsonCorp Field, the Captains edged Clinton in the series finale, 4-3.
Lake County jumped on Clinton starter George Soriano with three runs in the first inning. Jose Fermin led off with a single, Bo Naylor walked and Connor Smith ripped a double down the left field line. Fermin scored on the two-bagger, but Naylor was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay. Left fielder Peyton Burdick fired to shortstop Marcos Rivera who threw to J.D. Osborne at home to tag out Naylor. The rally continued, however, as Daniel Schneemann slapped a double down the left field line that brought home Smith. Two batters later, Cody Farhat laced a single up the middle that scored Schneemann to push the Captains' lead to 3-0.
The Captains tacked on a run in the top of the fourth on a wild play. With Billy Wilson on third and Miguel Jerez on first, Hosea Nelson hit a grounder to first base. Evan Edwards threw to second base to force out Jerez and Rivera, the shortstop, re-routed the ball back to first. Soriano raced to cover first, but Rivera's throw sailed past him. Nelson tried to break for second, but the LumberKings caught him in a rundown. Edwards eventually tagged him out, but Wilson scored in the middle of the mayhem to give the Captains a 4-0 advantage.
Captains starter Juan Mota baffled Clinton over the first three innings and got some help from Naylor who threw out a pair of runners trying to steal. In the fourth, however, the LumberKings scored a pair to pull back within two runs. The inning began with a web gem by Nelson, who tracked down a fly ball to deep right-center by Burdick and made a sliding catch on the warning track. Edwards, however, followed with a double to right and J.D. Osborne doubled two batters later to plate Edwards. Davis Bradshaw then singled to left, but Wilson misplayed the bounding ball and it hopped past him. Osborne scored to trim Lake County's lead to 4-2.
Mota blanked the LumberKings in the fifth and sixth, and reliever Kellen Rholl held Clinton scoreless over the seventh and eighth, but the LumberKings threatened again in the ninth against Manuel Alvarez . Osborne hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Thomas Jones doubled to left-center with two outs, bringing home Osborne to cut the Captains' advantage to 4-3. Alvarez, however, got Rivera to ground out to shortstop for the final out of the game. Alvarez nailed down his ninth save of the year and the Captains earned the win to avoid a sweep.
Mota (3-6) came away with a well-deserved win. The right-hander pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits. Mota struck out seven hitters and walked one.
Soriano (2-6) took the loss for Clinton. He allowed four runs on six hits over six innings. Soriano walked six and struck out four.
The Captains begin a three-game series with the Burlington Bees on Saturday night. First pitch at Community Field is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
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.
