Homer trifecta drives Captains

(Fort Wayne, IN) – In his return from the Injured List, George Valera hit a solo home run to highlight a three-home run night for the Lake County Captains (16-15) in an 8-3 victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (13-17) on Tuesday night at Parkview Field.

In the bottom of the first, Jonny Homza led off for the TinCaps and connected on a high fastball. Homza sent the offering by Captains starter Hunter Gaddis over the wall in left field for a solo home run to give the TinCaps a 1-0 advantage in the first inning.

Lake County came back in the top of the third. Austen Wade walked to start the inning. A single by Will Brennan advanced Wade to second base. Brayan Rocchio ripped a double down the right field line to bring home Wade and tie the score. With one out and runners on second and third, Bryan Lavastida hit a soft ground out to first base, but Brennan scored on the play to give the Captains a 2-1 lead.

The TinCaps tied the score in the bottom of the fourth. Agustin Ruiz began the inning with a line drive single to right and scampered to second base when Wade bobbled the ball. Ruiz moved to third base on a ground out and scored the tying run when Seamus Curran doubled off the top of the right-centerfield wall. Curran’s two-bagger knotted the score at 2-2.

A pair of bombs put the Captains back in front in the top of the fifth. After Rocchio singled and José Tena walked, Lavastida drilled a three-run homer off the centerfield restaurant at Parkview Field to put Lake County ahead, 5-2. Two batters later, Valera crushed a line drive solo homer just to the left of dead center. Valera’s homer gave the Captains a 6-2 lead.

Homza went deep again for Fort Wayne in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and nobody aboard, the TinCaps’ leadoff man cracked a solo homer to left-centerfield to cut the Captains’ lead to 6-3.t

The Captains added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Lavastida reached on a one-out single, then stole second base and moved to third on a groundout. With two outs, Daniel Schneemann came to the plate for the first time in the game after replacing Valera defensively. He delivered an RBI single to right field to push the Captains’ lead to 7-3.

Rocchio added to the Captains’ total in the top of the ninth. Batting left-handed against the right-handed reliever Felix Mijarez, Rocchio launched a leadoff home run to right field to make the score 8-3, Lake County. e

Gaddis (2-2) worked five innings for the Captains to earn the win. He allowed three runs on four hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts. Two of the three runs against Gaddis came on Homza homers.

Reliever Edwuin Bencomo took the loss for Fort Wayne. Bencomo (3-1) surrendered four runs on six hits over 2.2 innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out one.b

Xzavion Curry will make his Captains debut on Wednesday after getting called up from Low-A Lynchburg. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. from Parkview 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.