Captains two-hit Whitecaps, lose 1-0 balk-off
(Comstock Park, MI) – The Lake County Captains (11-9) two-hit the West Michigan Whitecaps (10-9) on Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark, but lost in 10 innings on a walk-off balk. Reynaldo Rivera scored the only run of the game on a balk by Kellen Rholl, as the Captains lost, 1-0.
(Comstock Park, MI) – The Lake County Captains (11-9) two-hit the West Michigan Whitecaps (10-9) on Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark, but lost in 10 innings on a walk-off balk. Reynaldo Rivera scored the only run of the game on a balk by Kellen Rholl, as the Captains lost, 1-0.
Both starting pitchers dominated over the first six innings. Logan Allen spun six shutout innings with five strikeouts in his longest professional start for the Captains. Whitecaps starter Beau Brieske scattered four hits and struck out five in his six innings of work to match Allen.
Lake County had chances to break the tie at multiple points throughout the game. The Captains left a runner on second base to end an inning four times over the first eight innings. Their best chance came in the eighth inning with Will Brennan at the plate and Victor Nova on second. Brennan went down swinging to hold the scoreless tie.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Whitecaps put together their best rally of regulation. After pitching two scoreless innings, Captains lefty Tim Herrin issued a leadoff walk to Bryant Packard. The walk ended Herrin’s night and Jared Janczak entered. On the first pitch he threw, Janczak got Andre Lipcius to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Janczak then struggled to find the zone. The right-hander walked Daniel Cabrera and Dillon Dingler. With two outs and two on, Rey Rivera smacked a sharp line drive to centerfield, but Brennan made the catch to send the game to extra innings.
In their first extra inning game of the year, the Captains came to bat in the top of the 10th with Joe Naranjo on second base as the free runner. Aaron Bracho started the inning with a line out to first base and Jonathan Engelmann grounded out to third base. Austen Wade came up next to pinch hit for Nova. Wade worked a two-out walk to extend the inning, but Mike Amditis struck out swinging to end the 10th for the Captains.
In the bottom of the 10th, Rivera started on second base for the Whitecaps. Eliezer Alfonzo came up next and flied out to left, but Rivera tagged up and went to third. Kellen Rholl (0-1) then entered out of the bullpen to relieve Janczak and the lefty struck out Jose King for out number two. Corey Joyce followed and took three balls before the Captains intentionally sent him to first base. Joyce moved to second on defensive indifference. Trevin Esquerra came to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. After one pitch to Esquerra, Rholl was called for a balk to score Rivera from third to end the game.
Left-hander Raymond Burgos gets the start for the Captains in game three of the six-game series on Thursday night. First pitch at LMCU Ballpark is set for 6:35 p.m.
A**bout 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.