Caps Punch Ticket To MWL Championship

EASTLAKE, Ohio – In a game where the loser’s season would end, the Fort Wayne TinCaps decided they would keep their season going. Fort Wayne defeated the Lake County Captains, 13-6, winning the Eastern Division championship series and earning a berth in the Midwest League Championship series for the second time in four years.

The Fort Wayne offense came through with its second-highest output of the season, bashing three home runs and collecting seven extra-base hits. Lee Orr hit his third home run of the postseason, and Travis Whitmore and Yeison Asencio each hit balls out of the park, too. Asencio led the attack with four runs batted in, and Kyle Gaedele, who had three doubles, knocked in three runs. The fifteen hits by the TinCaps were the second-most in a single game on the year.

A six-run, twelve-batter sixth-inning broke a 4-4 tie and gave Fort Wayne the lead for good. The TinCaps sent 12 men to the plate and notched six hits. The offense continued to work, adding a single run in the seventh and two more in the top of the ninth.

Fort Wayne scored first, as Orr’s solo homer made it 1-0 in the second inning. Gaedele cleared the bases with one of his three doubles in the third, making it 4-0 Fort Wayne. Lake County knocked TinCaps starter James Needy from the game after 2 2/3 innings, scoring four times in the bottom of the third inning.

Colin Rea, who earned the win in his first postseason appearance, provided three scoreless innings of relief. He recorded the final out of the third inning, worked the fourth and fifth, and retired two batters in the sixth before heading for the bench. The entire relief corps, which additionally consisted of Brandon Alger, Dennis O’Grady, Matt Stites and Johhny Barbato went 6 1/3 innings, and surrendered two runs on seven hits.

The championship series will begin on Wednesday night at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 PM ET. The Timber Rattlers have named RHP Jacob Barnes as their starter, and Fort Wayne has not yet announced a starting pitcher. The game can be heard on 1380 ESPN and ESPNFortWayne.com.