Laureano, Jones drive Captains

(Eastlake, OH) - Jonathan Laureano and Nolan Jones had marquee days at the plate on Sunday at Classic Park. Laureano homered as part of a four-RBI day and Jones knocked in three to help the Lake County Captains (7-8) beat the Bowling Green Hot Rods (8-9), 10-2.
The Captains jumped in front in the third inning. After Tyler Friis hit a one-out single, Austen Wade slapped a double down the left field line to give Lake County a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Jones singled up the middle to score Wade and make it 2-0.

Bowling Green scored a run in the fourth and nearly came back to tie the game. Captains starter Elijah Morgan walked Brendan McKay with one out and McKay moved to second base on a wild pitch. Ronaldo Hernandez then blooped a single down the left field line. McKay scored from second and Hernandez moved up to second base when left fielder Oscar Gonzalez threw home. The Hot Rods' rally continued when Moises Gomez singled, but Morgan escaped by getting Devin Davis to pop out to shortstop and Eleardo Cabrera to ground back to the mound.
Laureano and Jones helped the Captains distance themselves from the Hot Rods in the third. With two outs, Laureano hit a fly ball down the right field line that narrowly cleared the fence for a solo homer to give Lake County a 3-1 lead. Friis came up next and popped up to left field, but on a blustery day, the wind carried the ball to the line. Gomez, the left fielder, chased down the ball, but dropped it to put Friis on second. Wade then worked a walk and Rodriguez singled to score Friis.
Rodriguez's single gave the Captains a 4-1 lead and signaled the end of the day for starter Alex Valverde. Jose Disla came in from the bullpen, but could not keep the Captains in check. Jones roped a line drive to right field for a double. Wade and Rodriguez scored to give Lake County a 6-1 lead.
The Hot Rods scored a run in the sixth on an RBI ground out by Hernandez, but the Captains blew the game wide open in the seventh. Rodriguez led off with a single and Jones reached on a fielding error by second baseman Vidal Brujan. After Gonzalez struck out for the first out of the inning, Will Benson worked a walk and Ulysses Cantu followed with a bases-loaded walk to force in a run. Cantu's walk forced Disla out of the game and the Hot Rods brought in right-hander Nick Padilla. Padilla struck out Jose Vicente , but Laureano came up next and crushed a three-run double to the gap in right-centerfield to give the Captains a 10-2 lead.
Laureano led the Captains' offense with four RBI in a 2-for-4 day. Jones went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.
Morgan (1-0) picked up the win for the Captains. The starter pitched 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Morgan struck out four and walked three.
Valverde (1-1) took the loss for Bowling Green. The right-hander pitched 3.2 innings for the Hot Rods and allowed six runs, but only three were earned. Valverde gave up six hits, walked a pair and struck out five.
The Captains salvaged the last game of their three-game series with Bowling Green to avoid the sweep. Lake County will welcome the West Michigan Whitecaps to Classic Park on Monday to start a four-game series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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.