(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (12-14, 53-42) out-hit the Clinton LumberKings (14-11, 41-55) on Wednesday night, but seven walks, four errors and a big offensive day for Keegan McGovern sunk the Captains in a 9-4 loss to open a three-game series at Classic Park.Captains starter Jean Carlos Mejía
(Eastlake, OH) - The Lake County Captains (12-14, 53-42) out-hit the Clinton LumberKings (14-11, 41-55) on Wednesday night, but seven walks, four errors and a big offensive day for Keegan McGovern sunk the Captains in a 9-4 loss to open a three-game series at Classic Park.
Captains starter Jean Carlos Mejía got off to a strong start, but faltered in the fourth. The right-hander had not allowed a hit in three scoreless innings, but the fourth began with an error by third baseman Nolan Jones that put Ariel Sandoval on first. After Sandoval injured himself stealing second and was replaced by Zach Scott, Mejia walked Ryan Costello. Eugene Helder followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out for Jack Larsen. The left-handed hitter chopped a ground ball that bounded high over Jose Vicente at first and landed in shallow right. Both Scott and Costello scored to give Clinton a 2-0 lead. McGovern then singled in Helder to push the lead to 3-0.
Lake County pulled closer in the bottom of the fourth. Oscar Gonzalez led off with a single, extending his hitting streak to eight games, but was erased at second on a great play. Jones smoked a grounder up the middle and second baseman Joseph Rosa made a diving stop before flipping to second base for the force out. With Jones on first and one out, Elvis Perez blasted a towering home run down the right field line. The two-run shot cut the LumberKings' lead to 3-2.
Clinton got those two runs right back in the fifth, thanks to two walks and an error. Right-hander Riley Echols took over for Mejia and walked Rosa to start the inning. After a ground out and a strikeout for the first two outs, Echols walked Helder. With men on first and second, Echols got a ground ball that could have gotten him out of the inning. Larsen hit a grounder to shortstop, but Perez bobbled it and the based were loaded. McGovern then laced a two-run single to right field to give Clinton a 5-2 lead. Will Benson 's throw home was off line and skipped past catcher Josh Rolette, allowing Larsen to advance to third and McGovern to move up to second, but Echols escaped the rest of the inning with a strikeout.
Three more walks led to two more LumberKings runs in the seventh. Pitching in his second inning out of the bullpen, right-hander Jonathan Teaney struck out the first batter, but then walked three in a row. After Teaney struck out McGovern for the second out, Nick Sandlin came in from the bullpen to face Johnny Adams. On the first pitch, Adams lofted a fly ball off the end of the bat that plopped down the left field line. Costello and Helder scored on the bloop double to give Clinton a 7-2 lead.
The LumberKings delivered one more big blow in the ninth. With Maiker Manzanillo on the mound for Lake County, Larsen slammed a one-out double to the gap in left-center, bringing McGovern to the plate. McGovern already had three RBIs coming into his ninth-inning at-bat and pushed that total to five by pulling a two-run homer to right field, extending the LumberKings' advantage to 9-2.
Lake County scored its final two runs on another home run. In the ninth, Jones singled to extend his hitting streak to eight games. After lefty Steven Moyers struck out the next two men, Jones took second on defensive indifference before Vicente clobbered a two-run homer to the left field bleachers. The home run finished the scoring at 9-4, Clinton. It was the second game in a row in which all of the Captains' runs came on home runs.
LumberKings starter Randy Bell earned the win. Bell (2-2) pitched five innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked a pair. Moyers earned the save after allowing two runs over four innings. He gave up three hits, struck out five and walked none to pick up his first save of the season.
Mejia (2-4) suffered the loss. He pitched four innings and surrendered three runs - two earned - on three hits. He struck out five and walked two.
The Captains dropped the opener of the three-game series against Clinton and will play the middle game on Thursday morning. First pitch at Classic Park is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
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.
