Butler, Soderstrom go deep in 14-10 slugfest loss

EASTLAKE, OH – Lawrence Butler singled, tripled and homered, and Tyler Soderstrom drilled a two-run double and a two-run homer, but the Lake County Captains (3-2, 38-33) outslugged the Lansing Lugnuts (0-5, 25-46), 14-10, on Wednesday night at Classic Park.
The game, the Nuts’ seventh straight loss, seesawed early and often.

The Lugnuts tallied in the top of the first on a Jack Winkler RBI fielder’s choice off Lake County starter Aaron Davenport, only to see the Captains come back with four runs in the home half against Stevie Emanuels.

The top of the second began with Butler's seventh home run of the year and finished with Soderstrom’s two-run double to left-center, capping a five-run rally for a 6-4 Lugnuts lead.

But the Captains scored once in the home second and three more times in the third, leapfrogging into an 8-6 lead.

In the fourth, Soderstrom stepped back into the spotlight, following a Gabriel Maciel single with his 13th home run of the year, as well as his second in as many games in the series. The drive to left-center tied the game at 8-8.

But Lake County broke the tie with two runs in the bottom of the fourth against Joe DeMers. And then, after Kumar Nambiar handed them their first blank frame in the fifth, they added two runs in the sixth off Nambiar to go up 12-8.

In the seventh, Butler tripled to right off Jack DeGroat and scored on a Jared McDonald grounder to trim the deficit to three.

In the eighth, the Lugnuts threatened for more against DeGroat, putting runners at the corners with two outs for Soderstrom. But Lake County turned to Trey Benton, who retired Soderstrom on a groundout to short.

Connor Kokx increased the Caps’ lead to 14-9 in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer off Daniel Martinez.

In the ninth inning, the Lugnuts loaded the bases against Benton with one out on a Butler single, McDonald walk and Denzel Clarke single. A wild pitch brought home Butler, but Benton responded by striking out Patrick McColl and Euribiel Ángeles to end the game.

In defeat, Butler finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, notching his fifth three-hit game of the year. Maciel added three hits in five at-bats, raising his batting average to .333.Diego Granado was the only Nuts pitcher who finished with a clean sheet, tossing a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

Looking to halt the losing streak, the Lugnuts will start right-hander Joey Estes (5.31 ERA) on Thursday in the third game of the six-game series. Lake County counters with right-hander Mason Hickman (4.50 ERA). First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

The next Lugnuts home game will be on the 4th of July, the biggest day of the baseball season, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. against Great Lakes followed by an Independence Day LAFCU Fireworks Spectacular. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.

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