Lake County Sentinel
Captains end skid, shutting out the Loons 1-0
BY TIM SHIRER
CAPTAINS BEAT WRITER
The Captains entered Saturday night's game against the Great Lakes Loons at Classic Park on a three game losing streak. The goal was accomplished as Captains starting pitcher Matt Esparza struck out 12 batter on the way to the 1-0 shutout victory.
The Captains scored the only run of the game in the second inning. Francisco Mejia led off the inning by drawing a base on balls. Connor Marabell followed with a single and Mejia moved to second base. Martin Cervenka then added his own single and Mejia came home with the game's only run.
Esparza's 12 K's was a career high and a season high for a Captains pitcher. With the win Esparza improves to 7-3 with a 3.36 ERA. Great Lake starter Michael Boyle was the hard luck loser in the game, but pitched very well himself. Boyle went six innings scattering eight hits, striking out three batters and issuing only one base on balls. With the loss Boyle falls to 4-5 with a 2.76 ERA.
Captain’s center fielder Nathan Lukes had a nice game offensively as he went 3 for 4 with three singles to raise his average to .317. Mejia singled and went one for three to extend his hitting streak to 23 games. With the single Mejia’s season average is .343 and his average during the hitting streak is .422. Mejia’s 23 in a row ties current Captain Tyler Krieger’s 23 game streak as the longest in Captains history.
Captain’s manager Tony Mansolino told the media after the game that Captains outfielder Ka'ai Tom is done for the season with an unspecified shoulder injury.
The series will wrap up on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Lefty Victor Gonzalez will be on the mound for the Loons. Gonzalez is 3-5 with a 2.25 ERA. Brock Hartson will be on the mound for Lake County. Hartson, a righty is 5-3 with a 3.07 ERA
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POSTED 06/25/2016 22:17
