Captains power to big victory over West Michigan

Three home runs help snap six-game losing streak

Despite the gravitational pull of the start of NFL draft, the Earth remained on its axis on April 27. Other stuff happened. They played a baseball game at Classic Park.

Riding a six-game losing streak, the Captains hosted the West Michigan Whitecaps.

It was the eighth of 70 scheduled home games and the fifth of 24 meetings this season between the Captains and Whitecaps.

In the minor leagues, schedule makers sometimes resort to “unbalanced scheduling” to cut down the time players are spending on long bus rides.

Years back, when the Captains were in the geographically far-flung South Atlantic League, one season they played 70 of their 140 games against three teams within eight-hour driving distance.

The game begins. Firstpitch temperature is 59 degrees at 6:48 p.m.

Thanks to a late-afternoon rain shower, the first pitch is delayed 18 minutes while head groundskeeper Christo Wallace and his crew ready the field.

The Captains came in having not dented the scoreboard with a run in 22 1/3 innings. That soon becomes 23 1/3. This heard on the ballpark intercom: “Does anybody else smell broccoli?” Then 24 1/3. It soon is 25 1/3 as West Michigan starter Alfred Gutierrez breezes through the Captains batting order first time around. The only hit he yielded is a single by Captains right fielder Connor Capel in the bottom of the third.

The official attendance is 1,083. There are maybe 500 fans in the stands. Which is more than usually show for many weekday games in April after gully-washers with plunging temperatures. Must be “Thirsty Thursday” and half-price domestic drafts.

In the top of the fourth, Lake County starter Micah Miniard loses his shutout and no-hitter when West Michigan outfielder Cam Gibson tomahawks a fly ball to right field that rides a stiff wind over the fence in right field.

Two batters later, Blaise Salter goes solo against Miniard with a bullet into the left-field bleachers. The ball goes “thwack” against the aluminum seat back.

After nearly three games of dormancy, Lake County’s offense goes like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

The Captains score three runs in the bottom of the fourth and six in the bottom the fifth. They get home runs from Todd Isaacs (three-run), Li-Jen Chu (two-run) and Emmanuel Tapia, whose prodigious blast to right field clears the fence in the wink of an eye and lands on the roof of the batting cage fieldhouse.

Captains 9, Whitecaps 2, Browns use the first pick in the 2017 draft on Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett.

The home runs keep flying for the Whitecaps, including another rainbow round-tripper by Salter that makes it 9-5.

Not to worry as Isaacs, the pride of the Bahamas, doubles in a run to make it 10-5.

It’s 9:14 p.m. and Captains closer Dalbert Siri fans Anthony Periera to send the Captains back to the home clubhouse as 10-5 winners.

Isaacs writes “II IV II” on his wristbands for every game. That’s Roman numerals for 2-4-2, the telephone area code of the Bahamas.