Captains seal third straight series win

(Appleton, WI) - Anthony Miller homered and Brock Hartson delivered six solid innings on the hill to help the Lake County Captains defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Monday afternoon at Fox Cities Stadium. Lake County's 6-2 victory in the rubber game sealed the club's third consecutive series win.

The Captains took an early lead with runs in the second and third innings against Wisconsin starter Jordan Yamamoto. Connor Marabell led off the second with a single, stole second base and was knocked in on an RBI single by Sam Haggerty. One inning later, Willi Castro singled off of Yamamoto, swiped second and scored when Nathan Lukes roped a double to the gap in right-centerfield to give the Captains a 2-0 lead.

Hartson did not allow a runner to reach scoring position in the first three innings, but his thin lead was in jeopardy in the fourth. Wisconsin loaded the bases with nobody out. Troy Stokes, Jr. began the inning with a single off the left field wall, Hartson hit Isan Diaz with a pitch and then walked Jake Gatewood. The Captains' starter, however, worked out of the jam. Lucas Erceg bounced a ground ball to third base and Ordomar Valdez threw home to force out Stokes. Hartson then got Luis Aviles to pop up to second base and David Denson to pop out in foul territory to Valdez to end the inning with the 2-0 lead still intact.

Two innings after Hartson escaped the Timber Rattlers' threat, the Captains blew the game open with a four-run sixth inning. Marabell led off with a double and Haggerty drove him in with a two-out, RBI single. The Rattlers made a pitching change, subbing out Yamamoto for lefty reliever Quintin Torres-Costa, but the reliever walked Bobby Ison, bringing Miller to the plate with a pair aboard. Miller lifted a deep drive that cleared the right-centerfield wall for a three-run home run to push the Captains' lead to 6-0.

Wisconsin finally got a run in the bottom of the sixth when Gatewood homered to left field, but that was the only run Hartson (7-4) surrendered in the winning effort. Hartson went six innings and, though he did not record a strikeout, the right-hander gave up just one run on five hits and two walks. He picked up his second straight win and his third as a starter this year.

Wisconsin posed one more serious threat in the eighth inning, but the Captains' bullpen kept the damage to just one run. The Timber Rattlers loaded the bases with just one out against lefty Kenny Mathews. Dominic DeMasi came in from the bullpen after Mathews' walk to Gatewood put a Rattler at every base. Lucas Erceg delivered an RBI single to cut the Captains' lead to 6-2, but DeMasi then struck out Aviles and got Denson to ground to third to end the inning. DeMasi then pitched a one-two-three ninth to earn his first save of the year.

Yamamoto (5-6) took the loss for the Timber Rattlers after giving up four runs over 5.2 innings. The right-hander gave up seven hits and one walk. He struck out six Captains.

Lake County finished the road trip to Wisconsin 4-2. The Captains have a day off on Tuesday, but return home to start a three-game series against the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday morning. First pitch is at 11:00 AM.

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-, 20-, and 35-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.