Eighth-inning rally sparks comeback win

(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains (10-5, 50-34) rode a three-run eighth inning to come-from-behind victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (4-11, 26-57) on Friday night at Parkview Field. Lake County erased a two-run deficit with the rally and beat Fort Wayne, 5-4.

The Captains and TinCaps traded runs in the second inning. Lake County grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top half of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Cody Farhat and an RBI single by Daniel Schneemann . Fort Wayne responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half. Juan Fernandez roped an RBI double and Lee Solomon knotted the score with a single that plated Fernandez.
The game remained tied until the sixth when Fort Wayne scored a pair of runs against reliever Brock Hartson . Dwayna Williams-Sutton hit a soft infield single over the mound to begin the frame and Michael Curry followed with a walk. Grant Little dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position at second and third before Fernandez knocked them both in with a single up the middle. Fernandez's knock put the TinCaps ahead, 4-2.
Lake County came back in the eighth inning and took its first lead since the second. Facing All-Star reliever Henry Henry, the Captains plated three runs on four hits, three of which went for extra bases. With one out and nobody on base, Makesiondon Kelkboom was called on to pinch hit for Jesse Berardi . On the first pitch he saw, Kelkboom cracked a solo homer to left. Hosea Nelson followed with a double to put the tying run into scoring position. Two batters later, Josh Rolette slapped a single into left that scored Nelson to tie the game. Farhat then sliced a triple into the left field corner and Rolette raced in to score and give the Captains a 5-4 lead.
Skylar Arias nailed down the final six outs for the Captains to earn his second save of the year. The lefty allowed one hit, a ninth-inning single by Xavier Edwards. He struck out four and did not issue a walk across two innings.
Hartson (1-1) picked up his first win since August 10, 2017. The right-hander pitched two innings and allowed two runs and two hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Henry (7-4) took the loss and suffered a blown save. He pitched two innings and allowed three runs on four hits with one walk and no strikeouts.
The Captains won three games in their four-game, home-and-home series with the TinCaps, winning both games at Parkview Field. Lake County returns home to begin a three-game series at Classic Park against the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 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.