Captains’ Dominant Pitching Blanks Fort Wayne 6-0 in Series Finale

EASTLAKE, OH – In the finale of a seven-game home series, the Lake County Captains (16-11) defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps (10-17) by a final score of 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

The Captains posted their second shutout of both the series and season, holding the TinCaps to just three hits on the afternoon.

For the second time this series and this season, Lake County played as its Copa de la Diversión alter ego, Los Picantes de Lake County. Fort Wayne also suited up as Las Manzanas Luchadoras de Fort Wayne on Cinco de Mayo.

Captains RHP Austin Peterson (4-1) earned his fourth consecutive win and second of the series. The right-hander pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and no walks, while fanning three in just 64 pitches (48 strikes). This marks Peterson’s third consecutive quality start for Lake County.

The Captains’ bullpen then extended its scoreless streak to 17 consecutive innings with two shutout frames from LHP Steve Hajjar, and a scoreless ninth inning from RHP Zane Morehouse. The pair each threw two strikeouts, which included Morehouse’s game-ending strikeout of Fort Wayne LF Tyler Robertson.

Offensively, Lake County scored two runs each in the second, fourth, and eighth innings.

The Captains struck first when SS Jose Devers, MLB Pipeline’s No. 19 Cleveland prospect, scored on a wild pitch from Fort Wayne starter Ruben Galíndo (0-2). Then, DH Nate Furman hit an RBI infield single to put Lake County ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, LF Guy Lipscomb continued his strong week with a two-out, two-run single past a diving TinCaps 2B Anthony Vilar to double the Captains’ lead. The base knock gave Lipscomb his team-best ninth hit and fourth and fifth RBI (tied) of the series.

Four innings later, Lake County added onto its advantage when CF Jake Fox, MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 Cleveland prospect, hit an RBI double to plate RF Justin Boyd. Two batters later, Lipscomb scored on a passed ball to make it a 6-0 game.

After an off day on Monday, the Captains will continue their 13-game homestand with a six-game series against the Dayton Dragons. First pitch for the series-opener on Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. The series will be broadcast on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on both X and Instagram.

Notes To Know

- With their second shutout of the series on Sunday, the Captains recorded multiple shutouts in a series for the first time since their August 30-September 4, 2022 set at Great Lakes.

- In two starts this week against Fort Wayne, RHP Austin Peterson pitched a combined 13.2 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and one walk, while throwing nine strikeouts in a combined 150 pitches (115 strikes). The 2022 ninth-round pick out of UConn has now thrown 15.2 consecutive scoreless frames.

- Lake County allowed just three hits on Sunday, which were their fewest allowed in a nine-inning game this season. The Captains also allowed three hits in Game 2 of a seven-inning doubleheader against West Michigan on April 6.

- OF Guy Lipscomb finished the series with nine hits, setting a new Minor League-high for hits in a single series. The 2022 fifth-round pick out of Belmont hit a team-best .500 (9-for-18) this week, while also tallying team-bests in RBI (five, tied), walks (four), on-base percentage (.591, third-best in Midwest League), slugging percentage (.556), and OPS (1.147).

- As a team, the Captains batted .365 (23-for-63) with runners in scoring position this week, which was the best mark in all of High-A.

- With an RBI single in the bottom of the second, INF Nate Furman extended his on-base streak to 16 games. Furman is now tied with fellow Lake County INF Maick Collado for the second-longest active on-base streak in the Midwest League, trailing only South Bend’s Yohendrick Pinango (20 games).

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.