Aiken, trio of bombs lead Captains

(Eastlake, OH) - Brady Aiken tossed five strong innings and the Lake County Captains (12-13, 39-55) blasted three home runs on Wednesday in a victory over the Kane County Cougars (13-13, 52-41). Aiken allowed just one run, while Conner Capel, Li-Jen Chu and Jose Medina each went deep, as the Captains opened their six-game home stand with a 6-1 win.
Capel got the Captains off to a lightning fast start. On the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, Capel launched a solo home run high over the stilted signs in right field for a leadoff home run to give the Captains a 1-0 lead.

Aiken worked around an early jam to hold on tight to the slim lead. The left-hander had already left a runner stranded on second base in the top of the first when he loaded the bases with two outs in the second. Aiken surrendered a two-out infield single and then walked the next two batters before getting Ben DeLuzio to line out to right for the final out of the inning, leaving the bags full and keeping the Captains ahead.
The Cougars tied the score in the third inning. Aiken walked the leadoff batter and Luis Silverio bounced into a fielder's choice to retire Anfernee Grier at second and put Luis Silverio on first base with one out. Silverio then stole second base and Ramon Hernandez popped out to the catcher for the second out. With two gone and Silverio still on second, Manny Jefferson hit a fly ball over Capel's head in centerfield. Silverio scored easily from second and Jefferson raced to third with an RBI triple to even the score at 1-1.
Aiken quieted Kane County over his final two innings on the mound. The Captains' starter worked a one-two-three fourth inning and gave up just one hit in the fifth to keep the score tied at 1-1. Aiken was done for the day after five frames, but the Captains' offense pulled ahead just in time for the lefty to become eligible for a win.
The Captains struck quickly in the bottom of the fifth. Luke Wakamatsu worked a one-out walk, bringing Michael Tinsley to the plate. In his second at-bat with the Captains, Tinsley slammed a line drive to the left-centerfield gap. Wakamatsu scored easily from first base and Tinsley hustled into third with a go-ahead triple. Tinsley's first Captains hit gave Lake County a 2-1 advantage.
Lake County put together a dangerous rally in the bottom of the seventh, but could only manage one run. The Captains loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single. Capel bounced into a double play that allowed Tinsley to score from third base and reliever Jake Winston induced a ground out for the final out of the inning. Lake County missed out on a chance to pull further ahead, but still pushed its lead to 3-1.
The Captains launched back-to-back home runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Mitch Longo led off the eighth with a single against Winston and the Cougars made a call to the bullpen. Cody Clark came in to face Chu and the Captains' designated hitter lined a two-run home run to left. Medina came up next. The left-handed hitter was batting in Emmanuel Tapia's place after Tapia went down with an injury the previous half inning. Medina blasted a home run to right field to extend Lake County's lead to 6-1.
Lake County's bullpen pitched four scoreless innings down the stretch to nail down the win. Ben Krauth pitched back-to-back shutout frames in the sixth and seventh. Luke Eubank blanked the Cougars in the eighth and Henry Martinez locked down the final three outs to seal the win.
Aiken (3-10) earned the victory. The southpaw surrendered just one run and three hits over five innings. Aiken walked four and struck out two.
Cougars starter Sam Lewis took the loss. Lewis (3-2) pitched 4.1 innings and gave up two runs on three hits. The right-hander struck out five and walked two.
The Captains notched a victory in the opener of their three-game series against Kane County. The teams will turn around quickly to play game two on Thursday morning. First pitch at Classic Park is scheduled for 11:00 AM.
Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12- and 20-game mini ticket plans for the 2017 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.