FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – TinCaps fans got their first taste of playoff baseball since 2017 and it proved to be worth the wait as Fort Wayne bested Great Lakes 5-0 on Tuesday night in game one of their best-of-three East Division Championship Series.

Game two will be played in Midland, Mich. on Thursday night. Game three, if necessary, would be Friday also on the road.

Fort Wayne broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth as Nerwilian Cedeño’s double to right-center plated Tyler Robertson to give the TinCaps a 1-0 lead. The Caps would make it 2-0 in the sixth when Carlos Luis singled into shallow center, scoring Robertson to double Fort Wayne’s lead.

Samuel Zavala had the biggest blow of the night, crushing a 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to help set the final at 5-0.

Reliever Ethan Routzhan pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to earn the win. He allowed one hit while striking out one. Starter Henry Baez worked four innings for the TinCaps, striking out four while walking five.

Game two at Dow Diamond is set for 7:05 p.m. on Thursday night with Miguel Cienfuegos scheduled to start on the mound for the TinCaps.