Ninth-inning rally falls 90 feet short

(Midland, MI) - The Lake County Captains (25-36) came tantalizingly close to erasing a three-run deficit in the last two innings on Friday night at Dow Diamond, but fell to the Great Lakes Loons (20-39), 5-4. Loons All-Star right-hander Andre Scrubb recorded the final out with the tying run at third base.
The Captains scored first for the fifth game in a row. In the opening frame, Mike Rivera worked a one-out walk and Loons second baseman Marcus Chiu committed a throwing error on a potential double-play ball to move the runner up to third. Nolan Jones came up next and singled home Rivera with the first run of the ballgame.

Great Lakes took the lead in a flash in the third inning. In the span of three batters, the Loons plated two runs to take a 2-1 lead. Moises Perez worked a one-out walk and Brayan Morales laced a game-tying triple into the gap in left-center. Brandon Montgomery followed with a double to left that scored Morales.
Lake County tied the score in the top of the fifth. Ernie Clement , who reached in three of five plate appearances from the leadoff spot, doubled and moved up to third on a wild pitch. The Loons pulled the infield in for Rivera and the Captains catcher hit a dribbler in the grass toward first. First baseman Jared Walker did not have time to throw home and took the out at first. Clement trotted home with the game-tying run.
The bottom of the fifth turned out to be the decisive frame of the ballgame. Captains starter Kirk McCarty walked Perez to begin the frame, struck out Morales swinging and walked Montgomery to put runners on first and second. The left-hander then struck out Walker and the Captains went to the bullpen with two on and two outs. Right-hander Jonathan Teaney came in to face the right-handed-swinging Romer Cuadrado. Cuadrado lined a double to right field that scored both runners to give the Loons a 4-2 lead. Cuadrado then scored himself on a throwing error by Clement at shortstop to make it 5-2.
The Captains chipped away at the deficit in the eighth. Will Benson rolled a ball in the grass toward second and Chiu threw the ball away at first. Benson reached on an infield single and moved to second on Chiu's error. Ulysses Cantu came up next, worked the count full against lefty Justin Hoyt and slammed a double to left to score Benson and pull the Captains within two runs.
In the ninth, Lake County came dangerously close to completing the comeback. Hoyt remained out there and Todd Isaacs began the inning with a line drive double to left. Clement followed with a walk and Rivera bunted the runners up to second and third. After the bunt, Scrubb came in from the bullpen to face Oscar Gonzalez . The Captains' left fielder hit a chopper toward third. Montgomery charged, fielded and double-clutched on the throw, but still managed to beat Gonzalez by half a step. Isaacs scored and Clement moved to third with two outs and the Captains trailing by just one run.
Jones came to the plate in the midst of a strong day at the plate. The lefty batter had reached three times on a single and two walks, but Scrubb won this battle. On a 2-2 pitch, the righty dropped a breaking ball on the outside corner for strike three to end the ballgame. Scrubb secured the series-opening victory for the Loons and notched his second save of the season.
Reliever Connor Strain picked up the win. Strain (2-0) pitched 2.1 innings and did not allow a run or a hit. The right-hander struck out two and walked one.
McCarty (1-5) took the loss. The lefty allowed four runs on four hits over 4.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.
Lake County's three-game winning streak came to a close and the Loons snapped a three-game losing streak. Great Lakes has now beaten the Captains in each of their last four meetings. Game two of this four-game series is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Saturday night at Dow Diamond.
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.