Lake County Outslugs Loons to Win Series
The Lake County Captains pitching staff couldn’t have been too happy with their fielders, who committed four errors against the Great Lakes Loons at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio, on Sunday night. The Captains pitchers probably forgave the position players because of their performance at the plate. 11 runs on
The Lake County Captains pitching staff couldn’t have been too happy with their fielders, who committed four errors against the Great Lakes Loons at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio, on Sunday night.
The Captains pitchers probably forgave the position players because of their performance at the plate.
11 runs on 10 hits, including four homers, was more than enough to secure the victory for Lake County over the Loons, 11-8, to claim a series victory.
Lake County (55-45, 20-14 second half) opened the scoring in the second inning on a solo homer from Gabriel Rodriguez, his ninth of the season and second of the series. That gave the home side an early 1-0 lead.
The Loons (60-42, 20-16) took the lead in the fourth inning. After a pair of errors put two men aboard with one out, Damon Keith and
The Captains, High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth. Petey Halpin tripled to drive in a run and knot the game at two.
Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, had the answer to reclaim the lead in the top of the fifth. Ismael Alcantara doubled, and after a walk and catcher’s interference, the Loons had the bases loaded with one out.
A three-run fifth for Lake County would bring them back within a pair. All three runs in that frame scored on the second Captains homer of the night, a three-run bomb for Milan Tolentino. The 20-year-old infielder has hit three homers with Lake County and four in the season overall.
The back-and-forth scoring continued, with the Loons plating a run in the top of the sixth inning on a throwing error, giving them an 8-5 advantage. That was the fourth and final error of the game committed by the Captains, which combined to lead to four unearned runs.
Just an inning and a half after trailing by five runs, the Captains took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. A Mike Amditis single scored one run and put the tying run on base. The next batter, Korey Holland, hit his seventh home run of the season, a three-run shot to put Lake County ahead, 9-8. Those four runs were charged and earned to Loons righty Braydon Fisher (L, 3-4)
The Captains kept scoring – and kept homering – in the eighth inning. This time, it was a two-run bomb from Connor Kokx, his fourth of the year, giving Lake County some insurance with an 11-8 lead. That was the fourth and final homer for the home side on the night. The Loons, who had 10 homers in the series coming into the game, did not have a home run in the contest.
Meanwhile, the Loons were held scoreless in the final three frames. Raymond Burgos (W, 6-3) gave up just one unearned run in the sixth inning before giving way to Davis Sharpe, who spun two perfect innings with a pair of punchouts. Zach Hart (SV, 4) came in for the ninth and ceded just a two-out single before securing the victory.
The Loons have lost three straight games despite having 17 hits in their last two contests. Great Lakes mustered eight hits Sunday, including a two-hit game from Vargas and Ramos. Vargas finished with four RBIs.
Lake County wins the six-game series, four games to two, and evens up the season series at nine games apiece. The Captains will visit Dow Diamond for a final six-game set Aug. 30 through Sept. 4. The Loons head back to Midland, Mich., for a six-game series against the Peoria Chiefs (45-57, 17-19) beginning Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. It’s a jam-packed week of fun scheduled at Dow Diamond, including two giveaways, two Fireworks Loontaculars, a visit from a Marvel superhero, and more. To get all the details and purchase tickets, visit Loons.com.
The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.