Captains storm past Cubs to open road trip

(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (20-27, 49-68) scored in six out of nine innings on Saturday and opened a seven-game road trip with a 9-4 victory over the South Bend Cubs (20-28, 54-63). Four Captains tallied multiple hits and a pair of Captains drove in three runs to take game one at Four Winds Field.
A two-out rally produced the game's first run in the opening frame. After Cubs starter Ryan Williams retired the first two batters, Richard Palacios singled and Jose Vicente cracked a double to deliver his first of three RBIs and give the Captains a 1-0 lead.

The following frame, Jesse Berardi led off with a walk and Joshua Rolette followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Tyler Friis then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Berardi and extended Lake County's lead to 2-0. Friis ultimately tied Vicente's game-high RBI total with three of his own in his return to the Captains from High-A Lynchburg.
South Bend struck for its first run in the second. Captains starter Luis Oviedo walked Miguel Amaya and Jimmy Herron to open the frame. Austin Filiere followed with a single to load the bases and Delvin Zinn hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield two batters later. Amaya scored to trim the Captains' lead to one run.
Oscar Gonzalez began a four-hit night with a leadoff double in the third. Gonzalez moved to third on a ground out and Will Benson drove home Gonzalez with a sacrifice fly to center that pushed Lake County's lead to 3-1.
The Cubs came back to tie the score in the third. Amaya worked another leadoff walk and Filiere hit a line drive to center with one out. Todd Isaacs stumbled as he ran in for the ball and it hopped over his head. Amaya moved to third and Filiere advanced to second with a double. Austin Upshaw then drove in Amaya with a ground out to shortstop and Zinn singled to plate Filiere and even the score at 3-3.
Vicente continued his hot hitting in the fifth and put the Captains ahead. Two batters after Gonzalez began the frame with a single, Vicente hammered a two-run homer to left-center. It marked the second straight day with a homer and a double for Vicente. This long ball gave the Captains a 5-3 lead.
The Captains exploded for three insurance runs in the sixth. Rolette smacked a one-out double to begin the rally and Isaacs followed with an infield single in the grass toward shortstop. Friis followed and laced a double that brought home both runners and pushed the Captains' lead to 7-3. Friis' double knocked Williams out of the game, but Gonzalez capped the rally with an RBI single off of Jake Steffens. Friis scored and the Captains led, 8-3.
A series of strong at-bats led the Captains to a final insurance run in the seventh. Berardi began the rally with two outs when he battled Steffens and pulled a triple into the right field corner. Rolette then fell behind with two quick strikes, but fought back and worked a walk. Isaacs came up next and he too found himself in a quick 0-2 count, but roped a single into left that scored Berardi and gave the Captains a 9-3 advantage.
South Bend scored its last run in the seventh. Jose Gutierrez singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a single by Clayton Daniel. After Felix Tati struck out Christian Donahue looking, Amaya hit a two-out single that plated Gutierrez.
Tati (1-3) earned the win. The right-hander pitched four innings out of the bullpen and allowed one run on six hits. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.
Williams (0-2) pitched 5.1 innings and allowed eight runs to take the loss. The Cubs' starter surrendered nine hits, walked four and struck out two.
Lake County has won back-to-back games and handed South Bend its fourth straight loss. Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at Four Winds Field.
Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.