Captains sweep Fort Wayne to start 4-0

(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains' (4-0) offense came alive on Sunday at Parkview Field. The Captains and Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-4) completed Friday's suspended game and played a seven-inning contest, both of which the Captains won to earn a four-game series sweep. Lake County came from behind to win the suspended contest, 10-8. The Captains then took game two, 12-1.
Suspended Game
The Captains and TinCaps picked up where they left off on Friday in Eastlake, OH. The game resumed in the fourth inning with the TinCaps ahead, 6-2, but Lake County took control of the tilt on Sunday, largely thanks to Tyler Friis .

In the fourth inning, Friis worked a walk and TinCaps reliever Henry Henry hit Ernie Clement with a pitch. Two batters later, Oscar Gonzalez singled home Friis to cut the TinCaps' lead to three runs.
The Captains drew even closer in the sixth, again with Friis' help. Leading off the sixth, Friis doubled and Clement worked a walk. Austen Wade then doubled down the right field line, allowing Friis and Clement to score and cutting Fort Wayne's lead to one run. The Captains might have had a shot at tying the score in the sixth, but Wade had visions of a triple and was thrown out rounding second base.
Friis was again at the center of a Captains rally in the seventh and helped Lake County take its first lead. Will Benson worked a leadoff walk, prompting the TinCaps to go to the bullpen and bring in lefty Fred Schlichtholz to relieve Henry. A one-out walk then put Ulysses Cantu on board and a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position. Todd Isaacs came up next and hit a dribbler in front of home plate. Benson raced home, but Schlichtholz made a shovel pass to catcher Jalen Washington to retire Benson at home. Friis came up next with runners on the corners and smacked a double to right field that brought home Cantu with the tying run and Isaacs with the go-ahead run. Lake County took its first lead at 7-6.
The TinCaps came back in the eighth against Captains reliever Domingo Jimenez . With runners on the corners and one out, Jeisson Rosario dropped down a perfect bunt down the third base line. Reinaldo Ilarazza came home to tie the game and Jimenez's throw to first was too late to beat Rosario. Two batters later, Tirso Ornelas singled home Jack Suwinski to give Fort Wayne the lead again at 8-7.
Lake County stormed ahead for good in the eighth. The Captains loaded the bases against Schlichtholz thanks to two singles and a walk. Jordan Guerrero came in to relieve the lefty, but Guerrero walked Cantu with the bags full to force in the tying run. Isaacs came up next and hit a flare to right field. Ornelas charged in and dove, but the ball tipped off of his glove. Gonzalez and Mike Rivera scored on the go-ahead double by Isaacs and the Captains took a 10-8 lead.
Jonathan Teaney nailed down the win in the ninth. Though he allowed a single and a walk, Teaney struck out three and picked up his first save of the season. The save preserved a win for Domingo Jimenez . Jimenez (1-0) pitched one inning and allowed two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out one.
Schlichtholz (0-1) took the loss. The Fort Wayne southpaw worked 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits. He struck out two and walked one.
Game Two
Lake County put the pedal to the floor in the second game of Sunday's quasi-doubleheader, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits and eight walks. The Captains also blasted their first two home runs of the year, courtesy of Benson and Gonzalez.
The Captains' assault began in the first when Benson singled home Jose Vicente and continued the next inning with two runs on two hits and a walk. In the second, Jose Medina walked and later came home on a single by Clement. Jorma Rodriguez would single and score on a sacrifice fly by Jose Vicente to give Lake County a 3-0 lead.
Benson connected with the Captains' first home run of the season in the third. Facing lefty starter Osvaldo Hernandez, Benson cranked a deep drive to left-centerfield. The opposite-field shot cleared the left field wall to give the Captains a 4-0 lead.
Jack Suwinski homered in the third inning for Fort Wayne to trim the Captains' lead to 4-1, but Lake County plowed ahead. After the Captains scored two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Clement and a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez, they exploded for six more runs in the sixth. Rodriguez hit an RBI single, followed shortly thereafter by a two-run double from Clement and an RBI single by Vicente. Gonzalez came up next and cranked a first-pitch bomb over the left field wall. The two-run home run gave Lake County a 12-1 lead.
Not to be forgotten in the offensive onslaught, starter Grant Hockin turned in a noteworthy Captains debut. Hockin (1-0) picked up the win after tossing five innings and allowing just one run on two hits. Hockin struck out six and did not issue a walk.
Hernandez (0-1) suffered the loss. He pitched 3.2 innings and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on eight hits. He walked three and struck out three.
All told on Sunday, the Captains combined for 20 runs and held Fort Wayne to only three. Since coming to Parkview Field on Saturday, Lake County has outscored the TinCaps, 29-6. With the twin victories on Sunday, the Captains earned a four-game sweep of Fort Wayne and are the only 4-0 team in the Midwest League.
The Captains will now travel to Dayton, OH to take on the Dayton Dragons. Lake County begins a four-game series at Dayton on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-<st1:stockticker w:st="on">WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.