Captains rally to top Lugnuts

The Captains still have some walk-off magic left in them.

In the opener of a seasonending three-game series against the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts on Sept. 1 at Classic Park, they trailed, 9-3, going to the bottom of the eighth inning. No chance? No problem. Scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth, they added five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out the victory.

Shortstop Miguel Eladio capped the dramatic comeback in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out, tworun home run to left field off Lansing reliever Dalton Rodriguez to trigger a wild celebration on the field and in the stands.

It was the Captains’ 11th walk-off win this season overall and third against the postseason-bound Lugnuts.

Their overall record of 58-79 is what it is. But they are the class of the Midwest League when it comes to walk-off heroics.

“These guys put together good at-bats in these late-inning situations,” Captains manager Luke Carlin said.

Eladio, a 22-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, stood at home plate for a few seconds as his arching shot flew through the night air and cleared the fence in left field.

“It was a fastball. I knew it was out,” Eladio said, smiling.

Captains slugger Will Benson got the ball rolling in the bottom of the ninth inning with a one-out, tworun home run to right field. Benson also connected for a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to trim what at that point was a 7-0 deficit.

The 6-foor-5, 225-pount Georgia native has an MWL-leading 22 home runs and 58 RBI. He has homered in three straight games.

While the batting average still lags at .180, Benson’s team-high 80 walks give him a respectable .324 onbase percentage. His lateseason surge offers evidence why the Indians made him the 14th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of high school.

The Captains got their two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI triple by Mitch Reeves and a wild pitch by Rodriguez that allowed Reeves to race home from third base.

Rodriguez (2-1, 5.80 ERA) absorbed the loss for the Lugnuts, who slipped to 3731 in the second half.

Right-hander Jordan Scheftz (1-0, 4.26 ERA) worked the final 1 1/3 innings for the Captain (29-38 second half) to get the win.