Captains come back, fall late to split series

(Fort Wayne, IN) – The Lake County Captains (18-18) stormed from behind to even the score late, but eventually fell short in a 7-6 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (16-19) on Sunday afternoon at Parkview Field.

Will Brennan led off the second inning for the Captains with his 14th double of the season and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a Joe Naranjo walk, Aaron Bracho hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Brennan and give the Captains a 1-0 advantage.

The TinCaps took the lead with six runs in the bottom of the second. Ethan Skender singled to start the frame. He stole second base and scored on a Grant Little single. Little stole second base, then moved to third on Jonny Homza’s second single of the afternoon. Tirso Ornelas delivered an RBI-double that scored both Little and Homza. Yorman Rodriguez kept the line moving with a soft single to center field to drive home Ornelas. With two outs, Seamus Curran launched a double off the right-field wall. The final run of the inning came on a single by Justin Lopez that chased Curran home to make the score 6-1, TinCaps.

Lake County chipped into the Fort Wayne lead in the top of the third. Raynel Delgado singled to spark the inning but got caught trying to steal second base. Joe Donovan restarted the rally when he got hit by a pitch. That brought the red-hot Quentin Holmes to the plate. Holmes smacked a triple down the right field line that ricocheted in the corner away from the right fielder Ornelas. The triple scored Donovan to make the score 6-2. Brayan Rocchio came up next and blasted a home run to right field to cut the TinCaps’ lead to 6-4.

The Captains inched closer in the top of the fifth. Rocchio walked with one out and José Tena singled to put men on the corners. Brennan then singled home Rocchio to cut the TinCaps’ lead to 6-5.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Captains caught the TinCaps. Brennan hit his second double of the day, his 15th of the season, to start the inning. He moved to third on a bloop single by Bracho with one out.

Victor Nova delivered the game-tying hit for the Captians when he yanked a single to right field, plating Brennan and evening the score, 6-6.

The TinCaps took the lead right back in the bottom of the eighth. An infield single by Reinaldo Ilarraza began the inning. He stole second base, then moved to third on a groundout to first by Ornelas. The Captains brought the infield in and Rodriguez snuck a soft ground ball snuck through the middle to score Ilarraza and put the TinCaps back on top, 7-6.

The Captains briefly threatened in the ninth when Holmes led off with a single, but he was caught stealing second base. Rocchio then walked, but the TinCaps turned a game-ending 4-6-3 double play on a ground ball by Tena. Carter Loewen (6) earned the save after pitching the scoreless ninth inning.

Kevin Coulter (2-3) took the loss out of the bullpen for the Captains. He allowed one run on two hits in the eighth inning when the TinCaps took the lead.

Austin Smith (1-1) received his first win of the season for the TinCaps. Smith allowed one run on two hits in two innings logged out of the Fort Wayne bullpen. He struck out four with no walks.

The Captains return to Classic Park on Tuesday to face the West Michigan Whitecaps. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. at Classic Park.

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.