The Lake County Captains have one eye on the final playoff spot in High-A Central, while the other eye is on Cedar Rapids and Great Lakes, who are behind them in the standings.
While the Captains are in a fight for the playoffs, they had to also handle business against the Beloit Snappers on Sept. 16. The back-and-forth affair saw both teams take the lead, but the Captains pulled out the victory, 6-3.
The Captains (64-53) remain a game ahead of Great Lakes in the High-A Central East standings and hold the tiebreaker over Cedar Rapids.
The game started with three straight shutout innings by Zach Draper, who went a total of 5 2/3 innings and struck out four. It wasn’t until the last batter of the fifth inning that Draper gave up a hitters count, and manager Greg DiCenzo said that no matter where he has been in the lineup, Draper always performs at his best.
“It was a spot start for him. But he’s been all over the rotation for us,” said Dicenzo. “He’s started, he’s come on in relief, he probably has a save thrown in there, too, somewhere. He’s back in the starting role now and he knows how to pitch and trusts his stuff.”
Despite a solid outing from Draper, Beloit was the first one on the scoreboard with a Bennett Hosteller RBI single in the fourth. Draper continued to deal.
When the ball was handed to Andrew Misiaszek, he went 2 1/3 with six strikeouts. Cade Smith came in during the ninth with two strikeouts of his own.
No matter the score, the pitchers came in and made as short of work as they could of the Beloit batters. The arms have answered the call for the Captains during the playoff race.
“Every guy knows what their role and responsibilities are,” said DiCenzo. “They relish in the opportunity to pick a teammate up and every guy we’ve called on the past few weeks has amped up their game and thrown competitive pitches in competitive counts and working through some tough spots with runners in scoring position while trusting in their defense.”
While the pitching performed well, the bats needed to respond. It started with a home run by Raynel Delgado, his second in as many nights for Lake County, to tie the game at one apiece. RBIs by Jose Tena and Jhonkensy Noel also in the fourth gave the Captains a 3-1 lead.
After a scoreless fifth, Beloit once again tied the game up thanks to a two-run double by Troy Johnston. The Captains didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as one came in their half of the sixth. Christian Cairo took a shot to center field for a two-run home run to give the lead back to Lake County.
Tena hit his 16th home run of the year in the eighth inning and gave Smith the cushion he needed to seal the win for the Captains. DiCenzo said the Captains aren’t going to be affected by the lead getting away from them.
“It’s been the hallmark of this team,” said Dicenzo. “I love that about these guys. We’ve trailed early in a lot of games and they don’t let it get them down and they have the ability to strike right back.”
The series continues on Sept. 17, and Lake County sends Hunter Gaddis (4-10, 4.00) to the mound.
