Lugs' comeback spoils Draper's stellar debut

(Lansing, MI) - Zack Draper could hardly have asked for a better 2018 debut. The left-hander pitched six shutout innings for the Lake County Captains (21-32) on Wednesday, holding the Lansing Lugnuts (34-19) to just one hit. The Captains, however, let a 2-0 lead slip in the last two innings and saw their losing streak extend to five games with a 3-2 loss at Cooley Law School Stadium.
Draper and Lugnuts starter Maximo Castillo were tangled in a pitcher's duel early on. Draper had a no-hitter through the first 4.1 innings before Brock Lundquist flared a soft single into left-center field in the fifth. Castillo, meanwhile, struck out a career-high nine Captains in five innings of work for Lansing. The right-hander struck out six batters in a row between the third and fifth innings. Castillo allowed one run on four hits and walked one.

Lake County took the lead in the second inning thanks to three straight singles. Oscar Gonzalez began the frame with a single and Will Benson followed with another single. Jonathan Laureano came up next and singled to right field. Gonzalez rounded third and headed for home, as Chavez Young fired to the plate. First baseman Brandon Grudzielanek, however, cut the ball off in the infield and Gonzalez scored the first run of the game.
After Castillo's day was done, right-hander Donnie Sellers came out of the Lansing bullpen. Nolan Jones greeted him rudely. On the first pitch of his outing, Jones blasted an opposite-field homer to left-centerfield. Jones' second home run in three games and fifth of the year gave Lake County a 2-0 lead.
The Lugnuts did not score until the seventh. With two outs and Jonathan Teaney on the mound, Chavez Young doubled to bring up Grudzielanek. The right-handed batter hit a soft chopper to shortstop, Ernie Clement charged in, but lifted his glove up too quickly. The ball skidded into left field and Young scored on the error.
Lansing did not waste time in the eighth. With Teaney back on the mound, Yeltsin Gudino began the frame with a single and Ryan Noda delivered a crushing blow. The lefty batter hammered a two-run homer to right field. Noda's first long ball of the year gave Lansing its first and only lead, 3-2.
Lake County rallied in the top of the ninth against Matt Shannon, but came up empty. Laureano began the frame with an infield single on a broken-bat grounder, but Ulysses Cantu bounced into a double play to clear the bases. Jesse Berardi then worked back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk and put the tying run on base. With Todd Isaacs at the dish, Berardi broke for second and Isaacs hit a dribbler toward shortstop. Samad Taylor, the second baseman, had run toward second base with the runner on the move and crossed to the shortstop side of the bag to field the grounder, but Taylor could not handle the hop and Isaacs reached on the infield single. The Captains had the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first for the top of the order, but Clement popped out to centerfield to end the game. Shannon picked up his second save in the process.
Sellers (3-1) picked up the win for Lansing. The right-hander pitched three innings out of the bullpen and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out two and walked one.
Teaney (0-3) suffered his first blown save and took the loss. He pitched the seventh and eighth innings, giving up all three Lansing runs, two of which were earned. He allowed three hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter.
The Captains have lost five in a row and will try to snap the skid in the final game of their series at Lansing. First pitch on Thursday night is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Cooley Law School Stadium.
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.