Captains outlast Cubs in one run win

(South Bend, IN) – The Lake County Captains (55-48) battled their way to a 4-3 win over the South Bend Cubs (46-56) on Tuesday at Four Winds Field.

Johnathan Rodríguez gave the Captains the lead in the top of the fourth. Jhonkensy Noel began the rally with a one-out walk and Micah Pries followed with a slicing single down the left field line. Rodríguez came up next and slapped the first pitch to right-center for a single. Noel scored to give the Captains the lead, but the Cubs threw out Rodríguez at second.

Lake County added a run quickly in the sixth. José Tena lined a double to left to begin the inning and moved to third on a wild pitch. Noel then poked an RBI single down the right field line to extend the Captains’ lead to 2-0.

The Cubs responded in the bottom of the sixth. Alexander Canario reached on an infield single with one out and stole second. Bryce Ball then drilled an RBI double to the left-center field gap to score Canario and pull South Bend within one run.

Joe Donovan came to the plate with one out in the top of the seventh and ripped a solo home run to push the Captains lead to 3-1 over the Cubs.

South Bend struck back in the bottom of the seventh. Pablo Aliendo led off with a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch. Bryce Windham hit a sharp ground ball to the right side that kicked off of Joe Naranjo and into shallow right field for a base hit. Aliendo scored from second and made the score 3-2, Captains.

In the bottom of the eighth the Cubs tied the game. Tyler Durna led off with a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch. With one out, Ball singled up the middle to bring in Durna and even the score 3-3.

Rodríguez single handedly gave the Captains the lead in the top of the ninth. He led off with a single down the right field line. As Naranjo struck out for the first out of the inning Rodriguez stole second base and sprinted to third when the ball sailed into center field. With Aaron Bracho up and the Cubs infield in, a pitch skipped away from the South Bend catcher Aliendo and Rodriguez sprinted toward the plate. As the throw came from Aliendo to the pitcher Danis Correa, Rodriguez slid into home crashing feet first across the plate right as Correa laid the tag down. Rodriguez beat the tag to give the Captains a 4-3 lead.

Jerson Ramirez (3-0) blew the save in the eighth for the Captains but finished the game in the bottom of the ninth to earn the win. He allowed one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts while tossing the final two innings.

Correa (0-1) took the loss for the Cubs. He allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts in his only inning of work.

The Captains send Tanner Burns to the mound on Wednesday for game two of the six game series. First pitch between the Captains and Cubs is set for 7:05 at Four Winds Field.

About the Captains

The Lake County Captains are the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. For more information, visit the Captains’ website at www.CaptainsBaseball.com, Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CaptainsBaseball, Twitter @LCCaptains and Instagram @LCCaptains. Fans can also get the latest Captains news and offers by signing up for the Captains’ newsletter, The Anchor.