(Bowling Green, KY) - The Lake County Captains (1-3, 30-44) dropped the finale of a four-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-1, 50-23) on Sunday, 8-3. The Hot Rods scored at least a run in every inning from the second through the sixth, en route to the series-clinching
(Bowling Green, KY) - The Lake County Captains (1-3, 30-44) dropped the finale of a four-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-1, 50-23) on Sunday, 8-3. The Hot Rods scored at least a run in every inning from the second through the sixth, en route to the series-clinching win at Bowling Green Ballpark.
Lake County got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Jose Medina, Joshua Rolette and Ulysses Cantu hit three straight one-out singles to load the bases. Hot Rods starter Tommy Romero was able to keep the damage to a minimum, though. Jesse Berardi drove home the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to center that plated Medina, but Romero struck out Todd Isaacs to end the frame.
Bowling Green threatened in the bottom of the second inning, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Captains starter Gregori Vasquez had escaped an identical rally in the first, but could not duplicate the feat in the second. Eleardo Cabrera slammed a two-run double that scored both Trey Hair and Carl Chester to give Bowling Green a 2-1 lead.
A light rain fall caused a 15-minute delay in the top of the third, but Bowling Green's offense picked up where it left off once the tarp came off the field. In the bottom of the third, Zach Rutherford led off with a single and Moises Gomez followed with a monster home run. Gomez blasted a two-run shot to left that left the stadium and traveled an estimated 446 feet to extend Bowling Green's lead to 4-1.
The Captains got a run back in the fourth. Rolette led off with a double, but was promptly thrown out at third when Cantu grounded to shortstop and Taylor Walls fired to third base for a tag out. With a runner on first and one out, Berardi singled, which moved Cantu up to third. Isaacs came up next and hit a grounder to shortstop. The Hot Rods tried to turn two, but Isaacs beat the relay to first and Cantu scored from third to trim Bowling Green's advantage to 4-2.
A Captains error allowed the Hot Rods to add an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth. Vidal Brujan dropped down a perfect bunt with two outs and raced to first for a single. Walls followed with a single to centerfield and Brujan hustled to third. Isaacs fired to third and Brujan beat the throw, but Walls took a wide turn around first. Seeing Walls off the base, Captains third baseman Nolan Jones tried to fire a throw across the diamond, but his heave skipped past Cantu. Brujan scored to give the Hot Rods a 5-2 lead and Walls moved up to second. Vasquez stranded the runner, getting Rutherford to fly out to left to end the inning.
The Hot Rods scored again in the fifth, this time against lefty reliever Skylar Arias . With two outs, Hair singled and stole second base. Chester followed with an RBI double - his second double of the game - to push the Hot Rods further ahead, 6-2.
Another two-out rally resulted in two more Hot Rods runs in the sixth. Arias walked Walls with two outs and the runner quickly swiped second. Rutherford came up next and ripped an RBI double into the right field corner. Gomez followed with an RBI single to make it 8-2.
Lake County's final run came in the seventh against lefty Hunter Schryver. Berardi worked a leadoff walk and moved to third when Isaacs yanked a double down the left field line. Oscar Gonzalez plated Berardi with a ground out to third.
Hot Rods reliever Orlando Romero picked up the win with a pair of dominant innings out of the bullpen. The right-hander pitched the fifth and sixth, setting the Captains down in order each time. Romero (1-0) struck out the side in the sixth to cap a four-strikeout performance. Schryver earned his eighth save. The lefty pitched three innings and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Vasquez (2-4) suffered the loss. The right-hander allowed five runs - four earned - over four innings. Vasquez allowed nine hits, but also struck out seven Hot Rods and only walked one.
Lake County lost three out of four to Bowling Green and will now head to Lansing, MI to take on the Lansing Lugnuts in a three-game series. The series-opener is set for 7:05 p.m. on Monday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
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.
