- 06-05-2018

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Lake County Sentinel

Captains mauled by Cubs 14-7

BY TIM SHIRER

CAPTAINS BEAT WRITER

(EASTLAKE, OH) - Sunday began promising for the Lake County Captains (22-35) at Four Winds Field, but the South Bend Cubs (26-29) handed Lake County a 14-7 loss in the rubber game of a three-game series, thanks in large part to an eight-run rally in the fifth. The Captains led by as many as four runs, but South Bend's monster fifth gave the Cubs a lead they did not relinquish.

The Captains' bats were hot early. Jonathan Laureano opened the scoring in the first with a solo homer off of Cubs starter Javier Assad. Nolan Jones then laced a double and came home to score on a single by Oscar Gonzalez down the right field line.

South Bend trimmed the Captains' lead to 2-1 when Jared Young hit a first-inning homer off of Nick Gallagher, but the Captains punched right back. In the top of the second, Jesse Berardi worked a walk and stole second base. Tyler Friis followed with a single and also stole second. Will Benson then brought both men home with a double to right field and the Captains took a 4-1 lead.

Oscar Gonzalez extended the Captains' lead to 5-1 in the third. He pummeled a ball to left field for his eighth homer of the year on the very first pitch of the inning.

The Cubs scored again in the third, shrinking the lead to 5-2. Jhonny Bethencourt knocked in Roberto Caro from second with an RBI double. Lake County, however, answered again. Friis singled, stole second and then stole third. As Friis attempted to swipe third, catcher Michael Cruz uncorked a wild throw that skipped into left field. Friis scrambled to his feet and scored to give the Captains a 6-2 lead.

South Bend put together a dangerous rally in the fourth and pulled within one run. Nelson Velazquez delivered a run with an RBI single and Zach Davis plated two with a single that barely glanced off the diving glove of shortstop Miguel Eladio. The Captains' lead was down to 6-5 and South Bend nearly tied the score. Manuel Alvarez came in to relieve Gallagher after Davis' single with one out. Alvarez struck out Bethencourt, but the ball got away from Laureano and the inning continued as Bethencourt reached first base. With runners on first and second, Alvarez escaped the inning with the lead still intact when he got Young to fly out to left.

After Ulysses Cantu blasted a solo homer for the Captains in the fifth to push the lead to 7-5, South Bend stormed back. The fifth inning began with an innocent single by Miguel Amaya, but Cruz followed with a mammoth two-run homer to right field to tie the game. Later on in the frame, the Cubs had runners on second and third, following a single, a walk and a balk to move both runners into scoring position. With the game tied, Caro dropped a bunt down the first base side. Alvarez tried to throw out Velazquez at home, but the throw was late and bounced out of Laureano's mitt. The Cubs took an 8-7 lead. The Cubs added two more runs on bases-loaded walks by Jordan Scheftz and Cruz capped the inning with a three-run double. Cruz accounted for five RBIs in the eight-run frame and the Cubs took a 13-7 lead. They tacked on one more in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Davis.

Reliever Jeffrey Passantino picked up the win for South Bend. Passantino (1-0) pitched 2.2 innings in his South Bend debut. He allowed one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out four.

Alvarez (1-2) took the loss. The right-hander worked one inning and gave up six runs on three hits and two walks. Alvarez struck out a pair.

Friis led the Captains' offense and tied a Captains single-game record. The leadoff man's four stolen bases matched a mark set by Adam Davis on May 29, 2007 against Hagerstown. Friis also led the club with three hits.

The Captains dropped their fifth straight series and will head back home to start a three-game series against the Dayton Dragons after an off day on Monday. Game one of the series is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday night at Classic Park.