(Davenport, IA) - In a game that was largely defined by stellar defense and great pitching, it was an error that ultimately gave the Lake County Captains (15-17) the run they needed to beat the Quad Cities River Bandits (18-14). With the game tied at 1-1 in the seventh, Jorma
(Davenport, IA) - In a game that was largely defined by stellar defense and great pitching, it was an error that ultimately gave the Lake County Captains (15-17) the run they needed to beat the Quad Cities River Bandits (18-14). With the game tied at 1-1 in the seventh, Jorma Rodriguez scored all the way from first base on a two-out dropped pop up by River Bandits left fielder Jonathan Lacroix. The Captains went on to win, 2-1.
Quad Cities scored the game's first run in the third inning. Corey Julks worked a leadoff walk against Captains starter Gregori Vasquez and then stole second base. Jacob Meyers then hit a ground ball to the shortstop hole and Ernie Clement knocked it down on the backhand, but could not field it cleanly. After Meyers stole second, the River Bandits had men on second and third. With one out, Michael Papierski hit a hard grounder down the first base line. Ulysses Cantu made a sliding stop to rob Papierski of extra bases, but Julks scored on the ground out to give Quad Cities a 1-0 lead.
Lake County came back to tie the game in the fourth, but great defense prevented the Captains from going ahead. With the bases loaded and one out, Jonathan Laureano drove a ball to the centerfield wall and Meyers could not make the catch. Jones scored from third to tie the game and Wade raced home with the potential go-ahead run. Meyers, however, began s brilliant relay. He threw to shortstop Jonathan Arauz, who fired home and Papierski applied the tag on Wade to keep the game tied.
Todd Isaacs came up next with men on second and third. He laced a line drive to the gap in right-centerfield, but Meyers closed on the ball and made a sensational diving grab on the warning track to end the inning and keep the game tied, 1-1.
The Captains took the lead in the seventh inning. Rodriguez was on first base with two outs and Nolan Jones coming up. Jones hit a soft fly ball to left field, but Lacroix dropped the baseball. Rodriguez scored all the way from first and Lake County took a 2-1 lead.
Quad Cities nearly tied the score in the bottom of the seventh, but Will Benson made a lead-preserving play. With runners on second and third and one out, Meyers hit a line drive to right. Benson made the catch, but Cody Bohanek tagged up from third base. Benson fired a strong throw to the plate, the ball took one long bounce before reaching Laureano, who tagged out Bohanek to end the inning and keep Lake County ahead, 2-1.
The Captains received tremendous pitching from four men on Thursday night. Vasquez got the start and allowed just one run on four hits over five innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out four. Tommy DeJuneas came in next and held the River Bandits scoreless across two innings. DeJuneas (1-1) allowed two hits, struck out two, did not walk a batter and picked up the win. Manuel Alvarez pitched a scoreless eighth with a strikeout and Kyle Nelson struck out the side in a one-two-three ninth to earn his second save.
Quad Cities also received strong pitching. Despite taking the loss, Javier (1-1) struck out seven men over four innings. He only allowed one unearned run on one hit and three walks. Starter Luis Garcia gave up one run on four innings. He surrendered three hits, walked three and struck out four. Lefty Adam Bleday worked around two walks in the ninth, his lone inning of work, and struck out the other three men he faced for a scoreless frame.
Jones and Benson led the Captains' offense on Thursday. Jones reached four out of five times he came to the plate. He went 1-for-3, singled in the fourth and came around to score, walked twice and reached on an error. Benson reached base three out of five times. He did not register a hit, but walked twice and was hit by a pitch.
The Captains took game one of a three-game series at Quad Cities and will face the River Bandits again on Friday in the middle game of the series. First pitch at Modern Woodmen Park is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. EST.
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.
