Captains Advance to Midwest League Championship Series With 5-4 Win Over Dragons

EASTLAKE, OH – The Lake County Captains (77-53) (2-0) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat the Dayton Dragons (74-58) (0-2) by a score of 5-4, advancing to their fourth Midwest League Championship Series in franchise history, and second in the last three seasons.

2B Travis Bazzana, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 Cleveland and No. 12 Cleveland prospect, went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth and the eventual game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.

“You play this long grind of a season, we clinched before I even got here, and you’re just waiting for those games where every little detail matters, every run matters and it’s your season on the line,” Bazzana said. “It’s just fun to play baseball that matters.”

The Dragons struck first in the top of the third with a pair of RBI singles by CF Jay Allen II and LF Ethan O’Donnell. Lake County answered with a solo home run by CF Jake Fox, MLB Pipeline’s No. 26 Cleveland prospect, in the bottom of the fourth.

In the top of the fifth, Dayton scored two more runs on O’Donnell’s second RBI single of the night and an inning-ending ground into double play by 3B Cam Collier, MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 98 overall prospect. The Captains countered with Bazzana’s solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lake County took the lead with a three-run explosion. C Jacob Cozart, MLB Pipeline’s No. 12 Cleveland prospect, hit a sacrifice fly, LF Jonah Advincula ripped a game-tying RBI single, and Bazzana lined the go-ahead RBI single in the ensuing at-bat.

In the top of the ninth, LHP Steven Perez walked Dragons RF Hector Rodriguez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 12 Cincinnati prospect. RHP Allan Hernández then entered the game with runners on the corners and one out. Cozart caught O’Donnell stealing second base to record the second out of the half-inning. Finally, in the next at-bat, Dragons SS Leo Balcazar, MLB Pipeline’s No. 29 Cincinnati prospect, hit a bouncing ground ball to third.

Captains 3B Alex Mooney, MLB Pipeline’s No. 23 Cleveland prospect, charged, gloved, and threw high to first. But 1B Ralphy Velazquez, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 Cleveland and No. 72 overall prospect, corralled it and tagged out Balcazar to clinch the 2024 Midwest League East Division Championship for Lake County.

Captains LHP Adam Tulloch (1-0) earned the win, retiring four of five batters faced in relief. Hernández earned his first save of the postseason, retiring the only batter he faced out of the Lake County bullpen. Dayton RHP Arij Fransen (0-1) earned the loss, allowing three unearned runs and walking one out in relief.

After off days on Friday and Saturday, the Captains will take on the Midwest League West Champion Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (High-A, Milwaukee Brewers) in Game 1 of the 2024 Midwest League Championship Series on Sunday, September 15. First pitch for the opening game of the best-of-three set is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET from Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.

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

- The Captains are now 20-14 in the Midwest League Playoffs since joining the league in 2010. Lake County has now won five division titles in franchise history: one in the South Atlantic League (2003), and four in the Midwest League (2010, 2014, 2022, and 2024).

- In his 29th career Minor League game (including postseason), 2B Travis Bazzana recorded his fourth Minor League multi-hit, multi-RBI contest. It was his first such performance since September 1 versus Cedar Rapids.

- With a single and a solo home run on Thursday night, OF/2B Jake Fox extended his hitting streak to six games (including postseason). During this span, the 21-year-old is hitting .296 (8-for-27) with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI, and a .914 OPS.

- By facing Wisconsin in the 2024 Midwest League Championship Series, the Captains will take on the Timber Rattlers for the first time in over five years. The two teams last squared off in a three-game set from May 9 through 11, 2019 in Wisconsin, with the Timber Rattlers taking the final two contests of the series.

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.