Sky Carp rally to walk off Lugnuts, 4-3

BELOIT**,* *Wisc**. – Trailing by two with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Beloit Sky Carp (1-0, 31-33) tied the game on a Johnny Olmstead home run, then walked off the Lansing Lugnuts (0-1, 32-34), 4-3, on a Jake DeLeo RBI single in the ninth on Friday night at ABC Supply Stadium.

It was a dramatic start to the 66-game second half of the Midwest League season after the first half ended anticlimactically with a rain cancelation on Thursday.

A run-scoring fielding error by shortstop Olmstead in the first inning, a Jonny Butler sacrifice fly in the fifth and a run-scoring wild pitch on a dropped third strike in the sixth had helped the Lugnuts build a 3-1 lead.

Starter Grant Judkins fanned four batters in three scoreless innings; Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang followed with five strikeouts in three innings of relief, allowing only an RBI groundout to Torin Montgomery in the fourth inning; and Mitch Myers had blanked Beloit in the seventh inning to seemingly put Lansing in good shape.

In the eighth inning, Myers retired Carlos Santiago on a popout, gave up a double to Osiris Johnson and struck out Mark Coley II before allowing Olmstead’s fifth home run of the season, knotting the score.

The Lugnuts stranded singles from Brayan Buelvas and Cole Conn in the top of the ninth – finishing the game 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position – to set the stage for the Sky Carp. With one out, Jorge Caballero delivered a broken bat double to left and Montgomery walked. DeLeo followed with a line drive into center field, sending Caballero dashing home ahead of Henry Bolte’s throw.

In the losing cause, Lansing third baseman Luke Mann delivered several stellar defensive plays and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.

The Lugnuts next return home on Tuesday, June 25, raising the curtain on a nine-game homestand against West Michigan and Fort Wayne. For tickets and further information, visit milb.com/lansing or call (517) 485-4500.

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