Bazzana Ties Franchise Record in 5-2 Loss to Loons

EASTLAKE, OH – After a 93-minute delay due to wet grounds, the Lake County Captains (24-22, 65-47) fell to the Great Lakes Loons (25-21, 59-53) by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

This loss marks Lake County’s third consecutive defeat.

2B Travis Bazzana, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 Cleveland and No. 13 overall prospect, made Captains history, tying a single-game franchise record with three doubles in the contest.

His first double of the night came with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. C Johnny Tincher, who reached base one batter prior on a hit-by-pitch, tried to score from first on the play. However, he was thrown out at the plate to end the frame, which kept the Loons ahead 1-0.

Three innings later, Tincher reached second base on a fielding error to begin the bottom of the sixth when Great Lakes left fielder Sam Mongelli dropped a fly ball. Bazzana then hit an RBI double, cutting the Captains’ deficit to 2-1.

Then, the 2024 first overall pick’s third double of the contest was part of a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. After the first two Lake County hitters were retired, 1B Maick Collado singled and Tincher walked to put runners on first and second for Bazzana. The former Oregon State Beaver delivered again, driving in Collado to make it a 3-2 contest.

The Captains had a chance to potentially take the lead with two outs and runners on second and third, but SS Angel Genao, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Cleveland and No. 94 overall prospect, grounded out to second to end the seventh frame. Six of the final seven Lake County hitters were then retired to end the game.

Captains RHP Rorik Maltrud (4-3) suffered his third loss of the season. The right-hander pitched four innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, and one walk, while striking out four in 62 pitches in 38 strikes. However, the former Missouri Tiger exited early before the fifth inning began. His lone earned run allowed was courtesy of a two-out RBI single from Loons C Frank Rodriguez, which was the first run of the game.

Great Lakes eventually tallied three more RBI singles. First, LF Josue De Paula, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Los Angeles (NL) and No. 49 overall prospect, made it a 2-0 game in the top of the fifth inning. Then, 1B Kyle Nevin recorded a pair to give the Loons a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh, and a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth. 3B Jake Gelof finally rounded out the game’s scoring with an RBI groundout immediately following Nevin’s second RBI single.

The sixth game of this week’s scheduled seven-game series between the Captains and Loons is scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m. It will be Eras Night and Boy Scout Night at the ballpark, where the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a José Ramírez replica jersey courtesy of Stanley Steemer.

The game will be broadcast on the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Notes to Know

- With three doubles on Friday night, 2B Travis Bazzana became the 14^th Captain in franchise history to hit three doubles in a single game. He is the first to do so since INF Alex Mooney recorded three doubles on April 27 at West Michigan.

- Bazzana also extended his on-base streak to 11 games. During this span, the 2024 first overall pick is hitting .275 (11-for-40) with 12 runs, five doubles, one home run, six RBI, 10 walks, three stolen bases, a .442 on-base percentage, and a .917 OPS.

- With a hit-by-pitch and a walk on Friday night, C Johnny Tincher extended his on-base streak to 16 games, which is tied for the second-longest active streak in the Midwest League. During this span, the 2023 11^th-round pick is hitting .277 (13-for-47) with five runs, two doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, 12 walks, a .443 on-base percentage, and an .890 OPS.

- With a double and a single on Friday night, INF Angel Genao extended his hitting streak to five games. In 95 games across Lake County and Single-A Lynchburg, the 20-year-old ranks top-10 in MiLB in hits (130, fourth), doubles (31, sixth), and batting average (.330, eighth).

- With a single in the bottom of the third inning, OF Wuilfredo Antunez extended his hitting streak across Lake County and Single-A Lynchburg to six games. During this span, the 22-year-old is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with nine hits, one double, three home runs, 10 RBI, two walks, two stolen bases, a sacrifice fly, a .440 on-base percentage, an .864 slugging percentage, and a 1.304 OPS.

The Lake County Captains are the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and have been a Class A Affiliate of Cleveland since the team was founded in 2003. To find out more information about the Captains or purchase tickets, visit CaptainsBaseball.com, or call (440) 975-8085.