TinCaps Cruise Past South Bend

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The TinCaps earned their first victory of the season on Wednesday night at Parkview Field with a 10-7 win over South Bend. Starting pitcher Ernesto Montas was magnificent on the mound and received support from a balanced offensive attack. 

Fort Wayne led 9-0 after three innings, although the game wasn't over at that point. No, with 351 total pitches thrown, the full 8 1/2 innings took 3 hours and 27 minutes to complete.

Along the way, seven TinCaps combined for 10 hits, including center fielder Michael Gettys, who contributed three, and designated hitter Nick Torres, who added two. Both Gettys and Torres have hit safely in the first four games of the season. 

Five different TinCaps batted runs in. Among them, shortstop Franchy Cordero and catcher Jose Ruiz both had a pair.

After scoring a run in the first and another in the second, Fort Wayne broke the game open with a seven-run third. South Bend starter Jake Stinnett (L, 0-1) walked seven batters, hit another, and gave up three hits in 2 1/3 innings. He allowed eight runs -- five of which were earned. Both sides committed three errors during the night.

Meanwhile, Montas (W, 1-0) -- a 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic making his first start in the United States -- worked five innings with only one run allowed. Last year he pitched for the Padres in the Dominican Summer League.  

South Bend (3-4) put up single run in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings, plus a four-run seventh. The TinCaps tacked on an insurance score of sorts in the sixth. Bryan Verbitsky (S, 1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. 

Fort Wayne hosts South Bend again Thursday at 7:05 p.m. in the middle game of their series. Left-hander Taylor Cox is set to make his TinCaps debut against righty Jeremy Null (1-0, 0.00). The game can be seen on Comcast Network 81 and heard on ESPN Radio 1380, TinCaps.com, and the TuneIn Radio app.