FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Dwanya Williams-Sutton led off an eight-run second-inning rally with a walk and capped it with a grand slam, leading the Fort Wayne TinCaps (29-39, 62-74) to a 9-2 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (34-34, 66-71) on Saturday night at Parkview Field.In the loss, catcher Jesus Lopez
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Dwanya Williams-Sutton led off an eight-run second-inning rally with a walk and capped it with a grand slam, leading the Fort Wayne TinCaps (29-39, 62-74) to a 9-2 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (34-34, 66-71) on Saturday night at Parkview Field.
In the loss, catcher Jesus Lopez went 4-for-4 with three singles and an RBI double in his first Lugnuts start, while designated hitter Johnny Aiello was 2-for-4 with a single, a double and both Nuts runs scored, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Lansing starter Troy Miller tossed 1 2/3 innings, allowing a Justin Lopez two-run homer and a Jose Lezama two-run double in the second inning before departing with the bases loaded. Williams-Sutton greeted incoming reliever Randy Pondler by smashing an 0-2 pitch out to left-center, his ninth home run of the year, to give the TinCaps an 8-0 lead. Of the seven runs charged to Miller, only three were earned.
Pondler pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, allowing a run-scoring Lezama double-play ball in the fifth to close out the Fort Wayne scoring. Juan Nuñez then tossed two scoreless innings, striking out four, before Josh Hiatt struck out two in a hitless eighth.
18-year-old Fort Wayne starter Carlos Guarate struck out five batters in four innings, allowing one run in his Midwest League debut. Dylan Coleman (Win, 2-1) handled the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, allowing an unearned run, and Andrew Dean recorded the final six outs.
The game also featured the Midwest League debuts of touted 18-year-olds Leonardo Jimenez and Miguel Hiraldo , who batted second and third in the Lugnuts' order and played shortstop and second base respectively. Jimenez finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, while Hiraldo went 1-for-4 with a first-inning triple and a pair of errors.
The Nuts play two more games at Fort Wayne, a 6:05 p.m. affair on Sunday and a 1:05 p.m. contest on Monday, before returning home on Tuesday to play the 13th Annual Crosstown Showdown presented by Auto-Owners Insurance against Michigan State University. To live the Lug Life and purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com, call (517) 485-4500 or come to the Cooley Law School Stadium box office at 505 E. Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing.
# # #
