Captains lose second straight one-run game

(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains (34-24) fell by one run to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (28-29) for the second night in a row. Fort Wayne defeated the Captains on Wednesday night at Parkview Field, 3-2.

Lake County had a chance to take the lead in the top of the first, but a leaping catch by left fielder Aldemar Burgos kept the Captains off the scoreboard. Will Benson started a two-out rally with a double down the right field line and Ruben Cardenas walked. Mitch Reeves came up next and hit a hard liner to left field, but Burgos raced back, stretched out his glove and made a jumping catch in front of the warning track to end the inning.
Burgos then helped the TinCaps grab the lead in the bottom of the first. He doubled off the left field wall with one out against Captains starter Cody Morris and came home to score two batters later when Blake Hunt grounded a base hit into centerfield to give Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead.
The TinCaps scored two more in the second to expand their lead to 3-0. Luis Roman started the inning by slapping a double down the left field line and Michael Curry singled to put runners on the corners. With one out, Jawuan Harris bounced a ball back to the middle and Morris wheeled to second to try and start a double play. Morris' throw, however, sailed into centerfield. Roman scored, Curry made it up to third and Harris was safe on first. Xavier Edwards then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that brought home Curry.
Jose Fermin put the Captains on the board in the third. With two outs and nobody on, Fermin lined Joey Cantillo's pitch into the left field bleachers for a solo home run. Fermin's fourth long ball of the year trimmed the TinCaps' advantage to 3-1.
Both pitching staffs held serve from there and the game remained at 3-1 until the ninth inning, when the Captains got a break and nearly turned it into a comeback. Benson began the inning by popping up Henry Henry's offering into shallow centerfield. Edwards, the TinCaps' second baseman, and shortstop Justin Lopez both stood in the outfield grass as the ball dropped between them and Benson raced to second with a double. Cardenas then slammed a grounder off the mound and past Edwards' diving glove for a single into right-centerfield. Benson scored to cut Fort Wayne's lead to 3-2. Henry, however, got a big assist from his defense. Reeves hit a soft chopper to third base and Kelvin Melean started a 5-4-3 double play. Jawuan Harris then tracked down a fly ball in left-center off the bat of Bo Naylor to end the game.
Henry earned his fifth save and Cantillo (3-2) took home the win. The lefty starter pitched six innings and held the Captains to one run on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Henry pitched one inning, the ninth, and allowed one run on two hits with no strikeouts and no walks.
Morris (3-2) suffered the loss. He allowed three runs, two earned, over five innings. The Captains' starter gave up five hits, struck out seven and walked one.
The Captains have lost three games in a row for the first time since the beginning of May and will try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the TinCaps on Thursday night. First pitch at Parkview Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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.