Camarillo, Nuts dash past Caps, 8-7

EASTLAKE, OH – Ali Camarillo raced home with the go-ahead run on an eighth-inning throwing error by second baseman Jeffrey Mercedes, and the Lansing Lugnuts (19-24) ended a three-game losing streak with an 8-7 win over the Lake County Captains (21-21) on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park.

The game was delayed 26 minutes at the start by rain and was played in a twisting and turning three hours and eight minutes: Lansing took a 2-0 lead in the first inning; Lake County scored three unanswered; the Nuts tallied four runs in the fourth for a 6-3 lead; the Captains tied the game in the fifth; and each team scored in the sixth for a 7-7 tie.

With one out in the eighth, Camarillo singled to left off of Michael Kennedy and stole second to move into scoring position. Casey Yamauchi followed with a slow grounder up the middle. The charging Mercedes grabbed it, double-clutched, and then bounced a throw to first base off of Yamauchi, bringing in Camarillo for an 8-7 Lugnuts lead.

Hard-throwing right-hander Jay Dill closed things down from there, fanning two Captains around a Mercedes single in a scoreless eighth, and adding two more strikeouts around a walk in a scoreless ninth.

Dill was the last of five pitchers, with Ryan Magdic (2 2/3), Jorge Marcheco (1 1/3), Gerlin Rosario (1 inning) and Darlin Pinales (2 innings) handing off the baton.

Camarillo went 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored, Yamauchi finished 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, and Devin Taylor went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. The Nuts drew nine total walks in the win, six from Lake County starter Jackson Humphries.

Tzu-Chen Sha gets the ball at 7 p.m. Saturday, the fifth game of the six-game series, as the Nuts look for a second straight win.

Lansing will return home from May 26-31 to defend home field against the West Michigan Whitecaps. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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