Sellers, Lugnuts top Captains to close strong homestand

LANSING, Mich. - Donnie Sellers matched a career high with six innings, striking out eight, and the Lansing Lugnuts (6-1, 49-28) stopped the Lake County Captains (2-5, 31-46), 6-2, on a sporadically rainy Wednesday afternoon at Cooley Law School Stadium.

The Lugnuts took two of three games from the Captains to finish 9-1 on a ten-game homestand spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half.

Sellers (Win, 5-1) gave up only three hits: a second-inning Erlin Cerda single, a fifth-inning Joshua Rolette home run - the only run he allowed - and sixth-inning Nolan Jones single. The Lugnuts have won 10 of the last 11 games in which he has pitched.

Making his Lugnuts debut, shortstop Jesus Navarro gave the Lugs a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a sacrifice fly off Lake County starter Kirk McCarty (Loss, 1-7).

Brandon Grudzielanek opened the third inning with his first home run of the season, an opposite-field drive to right field, for a 2-0 lead.

The lead was increased to 5-0 and the game effectively put away in the fourth inning on Brock Lundquist 's team-leading 13th home run of the year, a three-run shot to right.

McCarty lasted only 3 2/3 innings in all, knocked around for 10 hits and five runs (two earned) while walking one and striking out five.

Lake County tallied its final run in the top of the eighth, thanks to a Jose Vicente RBI single off reliever Andrew Deramo .

The Nuts added their final run in the bottom of the eighth in unusual fashion: With Ryan Noda at second base and Grudzielanek at first, a Riley Echols pitch bounced off the mask of catcher Rolette and hopped high into the air. When Rolette was unable to locate the ball quickly enough, Noda sprinted around third base and scored.

Dany Jimenez recorded the final four outs for the Lugnuts, striking out two, to pick up his fifth save.

Grudzielanek finished the game 3-for-4 with two singles, a home run and a walk, scoring two of the Lugnuts' six runs. Both Noda and Ryan Gold added two singles and a walk, helping the Lugs amass 13 hits and five walks in total.

The Lugnuts head on the road Thursday, opening a six-game road trip to Great Lakes and West Michigan. The next home game will be on the 4th of July against the Whitecaps, a 6:30 p.m. start featuring an Independence Day LAFCU Fireworks Spectacular. To purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
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