Fast start propels Captains in front of large crowd

Sometimes in the long haul of a 140-game season, the stars align.

They did for the Captains on Aug. 18. In letter-perfect weather and in front of 6,547 paying customers, the third-largest crowd of the season at Classic Park, the Captains gave one of their better efforts.

Scoring runs early and pitching well throughout, the Captains topped the

West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-2, in the opener of a threegame series.

The Captains took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by right fielder Will Benson. After the Whitecaps scored a run in the top of the second, Lake County regained the lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by second baseman Richard Palacios.

Benson got the Captains rolling in the bottom of the third inning with a oneout single. He moved up to third base on a single by Jose Vicente. Shortstop Elvis Perez tripled them home to make it 4-1.

“It was nice to see Will swing the bat better,” Captains manager Luke Carlin said of Benson, the firstround draft pick in 2016 who has struggled at the plate most of the season.

Benson was 3-for-3, raising his average to .174.

Nick Gallagher, on the disabled list since July 5 with a right flexor strain, was activated on Aug. 18 and got the start against the Whitecaps. The 22-year-old right-hander from Iowa surrendered one hit in two innings. He threw 29 pitches, 20 for strikes.

Carlin said Gallagher was working on a pitch limit after his long stint on the DL.

Gregori Vasquez, normally a starter, followed Gallager to the mound. The 20-year-old right-hander limited the Whitecaps to two runs on two hits in 5 2/3 innings. Vasquez (6-6, 4.03 ERA) earned the victory.

Luis Jimenez blanked the Whitecaps over the final 1 1/3 innings to notch his first save.

“The guys played with energy tonight,” Carlin said.

“It was nice to have so many fans here,” Carlin added. “The last few homestands, they’ve really come out and supported us. There’s a lot to be said for having a home-field advantage.”

The Captains improved to 23-31 in the second half of the Midwest League season with their second straight win. West Michigan slipped to 26-28.