15 Captain hits drop LumberKings in series loss

EASTLAKE, OH (July 24, 2017) - In a game that featured 27 total hits the Clinton LumberKings late charge came up short in an 8-6 loss to the Lake County Captains on Monday night at Classic Park. Joe Rizzo stood out at the plate for Clinton (12-19, 43-55) with a 3-for-5 night that included a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored.
In the top of the first inning, the LumberKings grabbed their only lead of the night. Brady Aiken started for Lake County (15-15, 43-57) and after setting down the first two men he faced allowed a Rizzo home run to right, his second of the series, that went for the first of 27 hits in the game for both teams.
The lead did not hold up for LumberKings starter Danny Garcia (4-8). In the bottom of the first inning, the Captains tied the game with back-to-back doubles from Luke Wakamatsu and Miguel Eladio. Emmanuel Tapia then capped the rally with his second home run of the series, a two-run homer to center that was his Midwest League leading 22^nd of the year.
The Captains led for good following the first. Logan Ice led off with a solo home run to right off Garcia (6-8) in the third inning and Lake County scored one in the fourth, two in the fifth and once more in the sixth.
Clinton kept pace with a Luis Rengifo RBI single in the third and a two-run rally in the sixth that forced Aiken (4-10) from the game.
Trailing 8-4, the LumberKings chipped away against Captain reliever Alsis Herrera. Bryson Brigman scored the fifth run of the night for Clinton with a double to right and came across on Rizzo's second RBI of the game. In the top of the eighth, the LumberKings pulled to within two when Dimas Ojeda led-off with a double to right center and scored two batter later on a Johnny Slater single off the wall in right. Slater was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double.
In the top of the ninth, Clinton put the tying run on when Yojhan Queved walked and moved to second on a Nick Thurman single. Daldert Siri then struck out Ojeda to end the game and record his team-leading 10^th save of the season.
The road trip for Clinton concludes with a 2-4 record having dropped both series on the six-game Eastern Division swing.
The LumberKings will take Tuesday off to travel back to Clinton and then open a three-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits on Wednesday night at Ashford University Field. Wednesdays are "Wing Wednesdays" at Ashford University Field with 50 cent wings all game long.
About the LumberKings
The LumberKings, the only remaining Charter Member of the Midwest League, are playing their 62nd season in the league and their ninth as an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Since the club's inception in 1937, 271 former Clinton players have made it to the Major Leagues. The LumberKings play at historic Ashford University Field located off 6th Avenue North at 537 Ballpark Drive. Tickets to all 70 home games are available by calling (563) 242-0727 or by visiting lumberkings.com