Aiken takes another loss

On the plus side, the weather was postcard perfect and Conner Capel kept swinging the bat with a purpose.

In an 8-3 loss to the Dayton Dragons on Aug. 20 at Classic Park, Capel accounted for the Captains’ first run when he slammed a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The 20-year-old Texan reached base on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the sixth inning and scored on Michael Tinsley’s two-run home run.

Capel is batting .249 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI. He’s gotten his act together in the second half, batting .283, after batting .217 in the first half.

He’s been at his best in August, batting .348 with five home runs and 17 RBI.

Selected by the Indians in the fifth round of the June 2016 draft, Capel is coming on strong at the end of his second season in professional baseball.

“Conner certainly has been a bright point in our position players group,” Captains manager Larry Day said. “He’s using the whole field now and getting more hits. He’s a great teammate, a great worker and a great kid.”

The Captains would score no more on a warm, sunny afternoon.

Dayton starter and eventual winner Wennington Romero (4-10, 5.20 ERA) limited the Captains to three runs on six hits in six innings. He finished with nine strikeouts and didn’t