Hillman's gem spoiled in heartbreaker

(Eastlake, OH) -Juan Hillman delivered the most memorable pitching performance of the year for the Lake County Captains (12-14, 39-56) on Thursday morning. The southpaw pitched eight shutout innings and held the Kane County Cougars (14-13, 53-41) to just four hits. After Hillman left, however, the Cougars' bats came to life and a three-run triple by Luis Silverio in the ninth lifted Kane County to a 3-1 victory at Classic Park.
Hillman mowed down Cougars hitters from the outset. The lefty faced the minimum in each of the first three innings. He only allowed one batter to reach when he hit Seth Spivey with two outs in the first, but Hillman picked the runner off to end the inning. The Captains scored in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead and Hillman carried the torch from there.

The Cougars tallied their first hit against Hillman in the fourth when Ben DeLuzio knocked a leadoff single, but Hillman recovered and set down the next seven men in succession. Hillman faced the minimum in four of his first five innings on the hill.
Kane County made Hillman sweat in the sixth inning, but the southpaw worked around danger. After Hillman retired Stephen Smith on a pop out to right for the first out, Cole Thompson socked a double to left field. Hillman, however, got DeLuzio to bounce back to the mound and then got Anfernee Grier to hit a weak line drive back to the mound for the final out of the inning.
Hillman faced the minimum again in the seventh, getting an inning-ending double play to erase Ramon Hernandez's one-out single. In the eighth, however, Hillman had to escape one last threat. Adam Walton singled with one out and stole second base. The Cougars had the tying run on second base with one out, but Hillman got Smith to ground out and then struck out Thompson on a high fastball to end the inning.
Hillman's eight innings of work set a new career-high. The lefty pitched seven of more innings for the fourth time in his last five starts and blanked the Cougars on four hits and no walks. He struck out four and hit one batter.
Lake County had given Hillman early run support, but the Captains' bats fell silent down the stretch. In the bottom of the first, Miguel Eladio dribbled an infield single down the third base line and Mitch Longo followed with an RBI double to plate the first run of the game. The Captains, however, did not tally a single hit after the third inning.
Kane County's offense rose from the ashes in the ninth inning. Ryder Ryan came in to replace Hillman and retired the first man easily on a ground out, but Grier singled, Ryan walked Spivey and Hernandez singled to load the bases. Ryan struck out Manny Jefferson looking for the second out, but Silverio came up next and delivered the biggest hit of the game. The Cougars' designated hitter, who was 0-for-3 when he came to the plate in the ninth, smacked a fly ball into deep centerfield. Junior Soto could not chase down Silverio's blast and all three runners crossed the plate, while Silverio cruised into third base with a bases-clearing triple.
Ryan (3-3) was saddled with a blown save and a loss. The right-hander allowed three runs in one inning and surrendered three hits. Ryan walked one and struck out two.
Tyler Mark picked up the win in relief. Mark (5-3) worked one-two-three innings in the eighth and ninth, tallying a pair of strikeouts. The Cougars' pitching staff combined to retired the final 19 Captains hitters in a row.
Cougars starter Emilio Vargas also pitched well, but did not factor in the decision. The right-hander worked six innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Vargas struck out five and walked a pair. Lefty reliever Colin Poche pitched after Vargas and tossed a one-two-three seventh inning before Mark took over in the eighth.
The Captains and Cougars have split the first two games of this three-game series and will square off in the rubber match on Friday night. First pitch at Classic Park is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
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). 12- and 20-game mini ticket plans for the 2017 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.