(Eastlake, OH) - Jean Carlos Mejía was lights out on Sunday afternoon. The right-hander struck out a career-high eight batters over a career-high six innings to lead the Lake County Captains (4-7, 33-48) to a series-finale victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-4, 39-41) at Classic Park. Lake County split
(Eastlake, OH) - Jean Carlos Mejía was lights out on Sunday afternoon. The right-hander struck out a career-high eight batters over a career-high six innings to lead the Lake County Captains (4-7, 33-48) to a series-finale victory over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (7-4, 39-41) at Classic Park. Lake County split the series with a 6-4 win.
Mejia was on fire from the start. The Captains' starter set down the first nine TinCaps he faced, including three strikeouts. After allowing a run in the fourth, Mejia fanned five batters over his last two innings, shutting out Fort Wayne in the fifth and sixth. Mejia (1-2) picked up his first win with one run allowed on just three hits over six frames.
Fort Wayne grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a couple of balls that glanced off of Captains infielders. Jeisson Rosario led off the inning with a flare to right-center. Miguel Eladio drifted out from second base and reached up, but the ball clipped off of his glove and Rosario landed on second with a bloop double. Two batters later, Tirso Ornelas shot a hard grounder to first that deflected off of Ulysses Cantu 's leg and into right-center. Rosario scored and Ornelas hustled to second with a double of his own.
Lake County came back with a pair of runs in the fourth. Jonathan Laureano led off with a single and Oscar Gonzalez turned on a pitch by TinCaps starter Nick Margevicius, sending it off the left field wall for a double. Laureano scored from first and Gonzalez advanced to third when the throw went home. Two batters later, Elvis Perez blooped a fly ball down the right field line and dunked it in front of Jack Suwinski for a single. Gonzalez trotted home to put the Captains up, 2-1.
Jose Medina extended the Captains' lead to 4-1 in the fifth. After Eladio reached on a throwing error by third baseman Esteury Ruiz, Medina blasted the first pitch from Margevicius over the right field wall.
Perez pushed the lead to 5-1 in the sixth. Gonzalez tallied his second knock of the day with a single to right and then stole second base. Perez later lined a double to left field to score Gonzalez.
Ornelas pulled the TinCaps closer in the eighth. With Felix Tati on the mound for the Captains, Suwinski led off with a triple. After Tati struck out Rosario, Robbie Podorsky hit a grounder to third and Laureano threw out Suwinski at the plate. With Podorsky on first and two outs, Ornelas lifted a two-run homer to right-center to trim the Captains' lead to 5-3.
Lake County got one run back in the bottom of the eighth. Nolan Jones led off with a single and Perez followed with a single for his third hit of the day. Jones later moved to third on a wild pitch, putting runners on the corners with one out. Joshua Rolette then hit a sharp grounder up the middle that caromed off of lefty hurler Ben Scheckler. Jones scored from third on the infield single to extend the Captains' advantage to 6-3.
The TinCaps threatened in the ninth. Esteury Ruiz led off with a home run off of Tati to pull Fort Wayne back within two. After Tati got Justin Lopez to ground out, the right-hander walked Gabriel Arias and the Captains called on Kyle Nelson to come out of the bullpen. Nelson got Nick Feight to fly out to right and struck out Suwinski to end the game and pick up his fourth save of the year.
The Captains had three multi-hit games, led by Perez who went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Jones also collected a pair of hits, both singles, in a 2-for-4 performance with a run scored.
Margevicius (5-5) suffered the loss. The lefty pitched 5.1 innings and allowed five runs - three earned - on seven hits. He struck out six and did not issue a walk.
The Captains split their four-game set with Fort Wayne and open a four-game, home-and-home series with the Dayton Dragons on Monday. The first two games are at Classic Park. Monday's ballgame is scheduled to begin at 7:00 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.
