Marathon game goes to Captains in 16
(Eastlake, OH) - In a game that went 16 innings on Wednesday afternoon at Classic Park, the Lake County Captains came out on top. The ballgame lasted 4:49 and no runs were scored between the bottom of the fifth and the bottom of the 16th, but after 11 innings of scoreless baseball a single by Jodd Carter led the Captains to a 6-5 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps.
The Captains started off the 16th inning on the right foot when Anthony Miller worked a leadoff walk and Jose Medina came in to pinch run. Ordomar Valdez then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Medina into scoring position. The sacrifice prompted West Michigan to intentionally walk Willi Castro to set up a double play situation. After the walk, however, Carter roped a ground ball up the middle, past the diving glove of second baseman David Gonzalez. Cam Gibson came up throwing from center, but his throw was up the third base line and Medina scored easily with the winning run.
Long before Carter's walk-off hit, the ballgame went back-and-forth for the first five innings. Lake County struck first in the bottom of the first when a wild pitch scored Willi Castro, but the lead was short-lived. In the top of the second, West Michigan benefited from a pair of errors by Miller at first base and scored three unearned runs to take a 3-1 lead.
The Captains pulled closer in the bottom of the second when Sam Haggerty belted a solo homer to pull Lake County back within one run, but the Whitecaps responded in the top of the third with an RBI single by Jose Azocar. Will Allen crossed the plate to give West Michigan a 4-2 lead.
Miller got redemption for his fielding miscues in the fourth and the Captains got a lift to take their first lead of the game. David Armendariz hit a single with one out and Bobby Ison hustled his way aboard with an infield hit. With two men on and two outs, Miller cranked a three-run homer to put Lake County on top, 5-4.
The Whitecaps tied the game in the fifth and it remained that way until the 16th. After Captains starter Micah Miniard got the first two outs in the inning, Allen drilled a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Arvicent Perez then knotted the score at 5-5 with a single.
Both sides had plenty of opportunities to score in extra innings, but neither side could push a run across. In the bottom of the 13th, the Captains loaded the bases with one out. The Whitecaps brought the infield in, however and got an out at the plate when Gonzalez fielded a grounder off the bat of Valdez and forced Ison out at home. Castro then popped out to end the threat. West Michigan loaded the bases in the 15th inning with only one out, but the Captains got a break. Gibson hit a searing line drive that found Miller's glove and the Captains' first baseman fired a strike to Castro on the second base bag to double off Perez and end the inning. The Captains stranded three runners in scoring position after the ninth and the Whitecaps also left three in scoring position.
Wednesday marked the longest game of the year for Lake County, both in time and innings. Previously, the Captains' longest game was a 12-inning affair that lasted 4:02 against these same Whitecaps on August 1 at Fifth Third Ballpark.
The Captains have taken the first three games of this four-game series, including the last two in walk-off fashion. The series finale will be Thursday night at Classic Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.