Captains edge Hot Rods in 1-0 pitcher's duel

(Bowling Green, KY) - If not for Wednesday's no-hitter, Friday night's effort by the Lake County Captains (11-9) hurlers might have been the best pitching performance of the year. Elijah Morgan , James Karinchak and Jonathan Teaney combined to author a shutout of the Bowling Green Hot Rods (10-11) and a seventh-inning wild pitch gave the Captains the game's only run in a 1-0 victory at Bowling Green Ballpark.
Morgan was dialed in from the start. The right-hander set down the first 10 Hot Rods he faced before finally surrendering a single to Carl Chester in the fourth. Morgan still faced the minimum that inning when he got Brendan McKay to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. The Captains' starter went on to pitch 5.2 shutout innings and only allow two hits. Morgan struck out eight batters, the second-highest single game total of his career, hit one batter and walk none.

On the flip side, Hot Rods starter Austin Franklin was carving up the Captains. The righty had to escape jams in the first and fourth innings with runners on second and third, but was cruising otherwise. Through five innings, Franklin shutout the Captains and allowed just four hits. He struck out a season-high seven and walked two.
The game remained scoreless until the seventh inning. Tobias Myers was in his second inning of relief for Bowling Green when Jonathan Laureano slammed a one-out double to the gap in right-centerfield. After Franklin walked Tyler Friis , got Ernie Clement to pop out to second base for out number two, but followed with a walk to Will Benson to load the bases. With Austen Wade at the plate, Myers delivered a ball that catcher Ronaldo Hernandez could not handle. The ball went to the backstop and Laureano raced to the plate. Hernandez fired to Myers covering the plate, but the pitcher could not make the catch and Laureano scored on the passed ball.
Lake County's 1-0 lead was in jeopardy in the bottom of the seventh inning. Karinchak was on the mound for his first full inning of work after coming in to record the final out of the sixth. With one out, Karinchak walked Hernandez and a wild pitch moved the runner to second base. After Karinchak struck out Zach Rutherford, a passed ball by Laureano moved Hernandez to third base. Karinchak walked Devin Davis to put runners on the corners, but the right-hander then got Emilio Gustave to fly out to left to end the inning.
Bowling Green threatened again in the eighth. Adrian Rondon led off with a double and Eleardo Cabrera followed with a ground ball to right field. Rondon held up at third as Benson fired into the infield, but Cabrera took off for second base and made it safely. With nobody out and runners on second and third, Karinchak struck out Vidal Brujan and was then pulled from the game.
Teaney came in from the bullpen, but could not find the strike zone. After a four-pitch walk to Chester loaded the bases, Teaney fell behind McKay, 3-0. The right-hander delivered a strike to bring the count to 3-1 and then made the biggest pitch of the game. On the 3-1 offering, McKay hit a weak grounder near the second base bag. Clement fielded the ball, stepped on second and threw to first for an inning-ending double play to keep the Captains' lead intact. The right-hander then worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to nail down his third save of the year.
Karinchak (3-0) picked up the win in relief. He pitched 1.2 shutout innings and allowed two hits. Karinchak struck out three and walked a pair.
Myers (1-2) took the loss. The right-hander tossed four innings out of the bullpen and gave up one unearned run on the passed ball by Hernandez. Myers allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five.
The Captains and Hot Rods play game two of their series on Saturday night. First pitch at Bowling Green Ballpark is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. EST.
Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-<st1:stockticker w:st="on">WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.