Patient Captains bats trounce TinCaps
(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains (2-0) have begun the 2018 season as possibly the most patient team in the Midwest League. After working eight walks on Opening Night, the Captains again drew eight walks on Saturday in Fort Wayne, en route to a win over the Fort
(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains (2-0) have begun the 2018 season as possibly the most patient team in the Midwest League. After working eight walks on Opening Night, the Captains again drew eight walks on Saturday in Fort Wayne, en route to a win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-2). In the opener of a six-day road trip, the Captains combined their eight walks with eight hits to capture a 9-3 win at Parkview Field.
The Captains bunched most of their scoring between the second and fourth innings, scoring eight of their nine runs during those frames. In the second, the Captains loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a throwing error by pitcher
Fort Wayne got a run back in the second. Lake County starter
Lake County grabbed three runs in the third, this time without a walk.
The Captains led, 3-1, after Friis' groundout and Fort Wayne went to the bullpen, bringing in right-hander Adrian Martinez with runners on second and third. After Martinez struck out the first man he faced, a slow roller and a wild play netted the Captains two more runs. Clement grounded a ball softly toward shortstop and Arias charged in hard. The shortstop fired a throw to first on the run, but his throw sailed wide of first baseman Carlos Belen. Medina scored from third and as Belen went to retrieve the ball, Vicente tore around third base. Belen uncorked a throw to the plate, but his heave skipped past Campusano. Medina and Vicente scored to give the Captains a 5-1 lead and Clement raced to third amid the madness.
Lake County tacked on three more runs in the fourth, but they also lost their right fielder. Mike Rivera began the fourth with a walk and
With a 6-1 lead, the Captains kept rolling in the fourth. Following the wild pitch that scored Rivera, Medina slammed a double to left field that brought home Gonzalez. Friis later knocked in Medina with a single to put the Captains ahead, 8-1.
Lake County might have added to that lead if not for a stellar defensive effort by Arias. With two outs and Friis on second, Rodriguez hit a soft grounder toward shortstop. Third baseman Reinaldo Ilarraza cut off Arias, but could not field the ball cleanly. With nobody at third base, Friis took a wide turn around the bag, but Arias scooped up the ball and raced at the runner. As Friis hurried back toward third, Arias dove at Friis and tagged him out to end the inning.
Fort Wayne scored twice more against McCarty, but the Captains' lefty held the lead. In the fourth, Tirso Ornelas worked a leadoff walk and Arias drove him in with a double. The following inning Suwinski led off with a double and scored on a single by Tre Carter. McCarty, who did not factor in the decision, pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He struck out seven and walked three.
The Captains added one final run in the seventh inning without the benefit of a hit. Friis began the frame by walking against Fort Wayne reliever
Captains lefty reliever
Thompson (0-1) took the loss for the TinCaps. The 6'7" right-hander lasted 2.1 innings and was charged with five runs on two hits. Thompson struck out five, but walked four and hit a batter.
The Captains improve to 2-0 and will see plenty of the TinCaps again on Sunday. The two teams will begin Sunday by finishing Friday night's game, which was suspended due to snow in the fourth inning with the TinCaps leading, 6-2. The Captains will remain the home team for the suspended game, as that contest began at Classic Park. The game will resume at 2:05 p.m. at Parkview Field on Sunday afternoon. Fort Wayne and Lake County will then play a seven-inning game after the conclusion of the suspended contest.
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.