Locos stave off Lake County comeback in 7-6 win

LANSING, Mich. – Jake Reinisch drove in two runs with a single in the first and a triple in the fifth, Devin Kirby-Williams limited the Los Picantes de Lake County (Lake County Captains) (17-18, 54-45) to two runs in five innings, and the Lansing Locos (14-22, 43-57) survived a furious, four-run rally in the eighth to win a 7-6 contest on Tuesday night at JacksonⓇ Field™.

Lansing improved to 4-9 against Lake County, winning their first series opener in three series.

The Locos built a 7-2 lead with two runs in the first – thanks to RBI singles from Reinisch and Daniel Bucciero – followed by a run-scoring wild pitch in the fourth, three runs in the fifth and a Jared Sprague-Lott home run in the sixth that at first caused confusion.

“I saw the ball come back into play,” Sprague-Lott said. “I thought it hit off the top of the wall. Apparently, the umpire called it a home run, but I missed that one. But yeah, it worked out in the end.”

Knuckleballer Kirby-Williams allowed five hits and three walks with four strikeouts, escaping a jam in the fourth inning by icing back to back hitters with runners on second and third.

Now three starts deep with the Lugnuts, Kirby-Williams said it has only been up from his first game.

“It's getting a lot better,” Kirby-Williams said about settling in. “I'm getting along with the team, and I'm finally getting able to compete with what I want.”

Griffin Kirn blanked Lake County in the sixth and seventh, but Lake County found life in the eighth off relievers Tzu-Chen Sha and Luis Carrasco; doubles from Luis De La Cruz and Garrett Howe against Sha cut the deficit to 7-5, and a Jonah Advincula RBI triple off Carrasco brought the Picantes within one.

But Carrasco made quick work of Lake County in the ninth, striking out Juan Benjamin and drawing fly outs from Anthony Martinez and Jeffrey Mercedes to end the game and earn his fourth save.

In the winning cause, Reinisch finished 3-for-4 at the plate with one run scored and two RBIs, Sprague-Lott went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, one RBI and one walk, and Bucciero hit 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

In addition to his two runs scored, first baseman Bucciero also made a highlight-worthy play on defense at first base, diving for a groundball hit up the line by Martinez in the third inning with a runner on third to save a run.

“I was a couple steps off the line and, I mean, just knew there was a guy on third obviously, so just saw it down, went for it, got it, and luckily he wasn't going home, but, you know, just got that out,” Bucciero said. “Good momentum stopper there.”

Jorge Marcheco is the probable starter for Lansing on Wednesday, scheduled to face Lake County southpaw Nelson Keljo in a 1:05 p.m. matinee. Gates open at 12 noon for Skip Work Day and a Dog Days of Summer, with dogs welcome at the ballpark. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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