One bad inning sunk the Captains in the final game of their six-game homestand with Quad Cities at Classic Auto Group Park.
The River Bandits scored five runs in the top of the third inning off Captains’ left-handed starter Rodney Boone and used the outburst on June 4 to slip out of Eastlake 5-3 winners. The big blow in the inning was a three-run home run to right by Bandits center fielder Gavin Cross. It was his 10th dinger of the season.
The Captains cut into the Quad Cities lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nate Furman laced a two-out single down the right field line with the bases loaded to drive in two runs.
Justin Boyd homered for Lake County with one out in the bottom of the ninth to make it 5-3 and give loyal Captains fans reason to hope for a miracle, but the rally ended there.
The @LCCaptains lost to Quad Cities, 5-3, Sunday, but it’s always a good day at Classic Park when kids get to run the bases! pic.twitter.com/sIlcvMxFMw
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) June 4, 2023
Jorge Burgos followed Boyd to the plate and staged an epic battle with Quad Cities reliever Anthony Simonelli. He kept fouling off pitches and worked the count to 3-2. After fouling off a pitch for the ninth time, he made the mistake of calling for time for the second time in the at-bat. That resulted in an automatic strike three.
“He forgot he called time out earlier in the at-bat,” Captains manager Omir Santos said. “He fouled off a lot of pitches. You can call a timeout only once. We can’t do anything about that one.”
Boone pitched well before and after the River Bandits’ explosive third inning. He put the visitors down in order in the first inning, struck out the side in the second and then put them down 1-2-3 in the fourth and fifth innings. He pounded his glove as he walked off the mound in the middle of the fifth, knowing his day was finished, after Cayden Wallace popped out to Lake County first baseman Junior Sanquintin.
“He composed himself and helped the team through five innings,” Santos said. “That’s what we’re looking for from our starters
“The pitching has been fine. We have to score a little more and we’ll be fine. Our bullpen is doing the job.”
Sergio Morillo followed Boone to the mound and pitched two scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out four Bandits. Alaska Abney pitched the eighth and Franco Aleman pitched the ninth while keeping the River Bandits at five runs.
Lake County and Quad Cities each won three times in the six-game series. The Captains, 25-26, are off June 5. They begin a six-game series on the road against the Great Lakes Loons on June 6.
THE SCORE
River Bandits 5, Captains 3
