Hot Rods run over Captains 4-1

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Lake County Sentinel

Hot Rods run over Captains 4-1

BY ANDREW LUFTGLASS

CAPTAINS MEDIA

(BOWLING GREEN, KY) - Kirk McCarty spun a strong start on Friday night at Bowling Green Ballpark, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods (49-22) scratched across just enough runs to down the Lake County Captains (29-43) for their franchise record 13th consecutive win. Though the Captains danced around several Hot Rods rallies, Bowling Green came away with a 4-1 victory in a game that did not include a single RBI hit.

The Captains scored the game's first run in the third inning without the benefit of a hit. Todd Isaacs worked a leadoff walk against Hot Rods lefty starter Josh Fleming. A high bouncer to the mound by Ernie Clement moved Isaacs to second and a grounder to short by Nolan Jones pushed the runner up to third. Oscar Gonzalez then hit a ground ball to deep third base and Jim Haley's throw skipped in the dirt at first. Devin Davis could not make the pick and Isaacs scored from third on the error to give the Captains a 1-0 lead.

Bowling Green answered in the third. Haley reached on an infield single and Emilio Gustave slammed a double to right field to put runners on second and third with just one out. Vidal Brujan followed with a fly ball to right field and Haley tagged up from third to score the game-tying run. McCarty then got Taylor Walls to fly out to right and end the inning.

The Hot Rods mounted another big threat in the fifth, but stellar Captains defense kept Bowling Green to just one run. Carl Chester reached to lead off the inning when he struck out and a passed ball by Jonathan Laureano allowed the ball to squib to the backstop. Davis followed with a single and Haley sacrifice bunted to put runners on second and third with one out. Gustave came up next with the infield in and chopped a ball up the middle. Clement ranged to his left and fired to third base, erasing Davis on a tag play by Jones. Chester scored from third with the go-ahead run, but the Hot Rods no longer had a man in scoring position. Brujan followed with a single and that is when Gonzalez delivered the best defensive play of the game and also the most confusing play.

Bowling Green had runners on first and second when Walls lifted a fly ball to deep left field. Gonzalez went back to the wall and jumped up to rob the home run. Base umpire Phil Bando did not see Gonzalez catch the ball and signaled home run. As the Hot Rods rounded the bases, Gonzalez presented the ball. Bando and home plate umpire Ben Rosen convened and revered the call to an out and a home-run robbing catch to end the inning. The Hot Rods' lead stayed at 2-1.

Facing Jonathan Teaney in the seventh, the Hot Rods threatened again and again only had one run to show for their efforts. Haley hit a one-out single and Gustave beat out a high bouncer on the third base side of the mound for an infield hit. Brujan bounced a ball to Clement and the Captains forced out Gustave at second to put runners on the corners with two outs. With Walls at the plate and two outs, a pitch in the dirt skipped off of Laureano and rolled a few feet to the catcher's right. Haley hustled home and Laureano made a diving tag attempt at the sliding baserunner, but Haley barely touched home in time to give the Hot Rods a 3-1 edge. Teaney then got Walls to ground out to first to end the inning.

Captains southpaw Kyle Nelson nearly escaped a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the eighth. Zach Rutherford, Moises Gomez and Ronaldo Hernandez began the inning with three consecutive singles, but Nelson fanned Chester and Davis scorched a line drive that found Clement for the second out. With two outs and two strikes on Haley, however, a wild pitch skipped to the backstop to score Rutherford with Bowling Green's fourth run.

Fleming (4-1) picked up the win for the Hot Rods. The southpaw pitched six innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits. Fleming struck out seven and walked three. Phoenix Sanders pitched a scoreless and hitless ninth with a pair of strikeouts to notch his third save.

McCarty (1-6) suffered a hard-luck loss after allowing just two runs – one earned – over six innings. McCarty did not walk a batter for the second start in a row. He struck out five and allowed five hits.

The Captains have lost their last five in a row to Bowling Green and will try again to end the Hot Rods' winning streak on Saturday night in game three of the four-game series. First pitch at Bowling Green Ballpark is slated for 7:35 p.m. ET.