Cubs Force Game Three, Win Narrowly 4-3

(EASTLAKE, OH) - The Lake County Captains and South Bend Cubs will play a winner take all game three tomorrow Wednesday, September 21st, after the Cubs narrowly came away victorious 4-3 on a 70-degree overcast Tuesday night at Classic Park.

The Captains jumped out to a quick start, getting the first three batters to reach. Joe Naranjo on a walk, Connor Kokx, and Petey Halpin both singled. With one out, Milan Tolentino lifted a ball into deep left field that scored a run, a sacrifice fly. Luis Devers forced a groundball to end the frame.

Tommy Mace was dominant over his first three frames for Lake County. The right-hander permitted just three baserunners, one reached via an error.

In the fourth, the Cubs knotted up the score. A walk and back-to-back singles, the second being an RBI base knock from Pablo Aliendo made it 1-1. Mace would not finish the fourth after throwing 28 pitches, as South Bend worked counts well against him.

Lake County reclaimed the lead in the fourth, once again getting a run against Luis Devers. Christian Cairo singled and stole second. With two outs, Micael Ramirez delivered his fifth hit of the postseason, a single to right field. Devers finished the fourth, it was the first time he allowed more than one run in an outing in High-A, with 11 appearances in the regular season.

Runners in motion helped South Bend tie up the game. After a scoreless fifth from Alaska Abney, the right-hander allowed a walk to BJ Murray who then stole second to begin the sixth. He moved to third off a Yohendrick Pinango single gained against Jaime Arias. Then Davis Sharpe entered the contest.

The 2021 13th Round Pick got a strikeout, but following the swing and miss, Pinango took off to second. An errant throw into centerfield assisted Murray to trot home from third pulling the game even 2-2.

In the top of the seventh, the Cubs delivered two two-out hits, a double from Owen Caissie and an RBI single from Luis Verdugo. Pete Crow-Armstrong had two hits in his first four plate appearances, in his fifth at-bat in the top of the ninth, he rifled a ball over the right-field fence to make it a 4-2 game.

Lake County in the final three innings were held to just two hits. In the bottom of the ninth, Micael Ramirez began with a walk. Cesar Idrogo, came in as a pinch runner. Yordys Valdes then extended his postseason hitting streak to five, with a single. After a pitch in the dirt, both runners moved into scoring position.

Joe Naranjo stepped up and shot a ball down the left-field line. The flyball was deep enough to score Idrogo. A groundout to shortstop moved Valdes to third, with Petey Halpin having a chance to tie or potentially win the game. Halpin popped up the first pitch he faced which was caught in foul territory by third baseman Luis Verdugo. Michael McAvene worked the ninth.

The Captains will once more go for their second Midwest League title in franchise history, Wednesday, September 21st. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. Coverage of the game can be found on WJCU.org/Captains and the MiLB First Pitch app.