Donnie Baseball supplies relief

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Donnie Sellers notched 12 strikeouts in five scoreless innings in relief, and Kevin Smith and Cullen Large homered in a 10-1 romp for the Lansing Lugnuts (3-2) over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-4) in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night at Parkview Field.

The first TinCaps batter of the game, Jeisson Rosario, opened the first inning with an inside-the-park home run.

From that point on, the game belonged to the visitors - one visitor in particular.

Sellers (Win, 1-0) took over for Maverik Buffo to start the fifth inning and recorded the final 15 outs in scoreless, dominating fashion. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon allowed only three singles while striking out two batters in the fifth, three in the sixth, one in the seventh, and the final six TinCaps in the eighth and ninth.

Buffo struck out six TinCaps in four innings in his Midwest League debut, stranding seven runners on base. Meanwhile, the Nuts' offense exploded for five runs in the second inning against Fort Wayne starter Tom Cosgrove (Loss, 0-1), thanks to RBI base hits from Smith, Large, Chavez Young and Kevin Vicuña.

Smith finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBIs, a walk, and his first home run of the season, pounded to left field in the fifth inning.

Large went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, two runs batted in, a double, and his first professional home run, lifted to right field in the ninth.

Ryan Noda and Kevin Vicuña added two-hit games for the Lugnuts, who amassed a season-high 14 base hits in the win.

18-year-old Maximo Castillo (0-0, 0.00) makes his first Lugnuts start on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. in the second game of the four-game series, opposing the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Fort Wayne left-hander Mackenzie Gore.

The Lansing Lugnuts return home at 7:05 p.m. on Friday the 13th, opening a seven-day, six-game homestand against West Michigan and Lake County. To purchase tickets and live the LugLife, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
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