Captains hammer 15 hits in rout of West Michigan

Going into the series finale against West Michigan on Aug. 12 at Classic Park, the Captains were 45-8 in games when they scored five or more runs. Make it 46-8. When they put up six runs in the bottom of the first inning and knocked out West Michigan starter Wilkel Hernandez after he’d recorded only one out, things were looking good for the home team.

They continued to look good all the way to the final out of a 13-6 rout of the Whitecaps.

Piling up 15 hits, the Captains did everything with their bats except hit a home run. They matched their season-high for runs scored and fell two hits shy of equaling their seasonhigh in that department.

“It’s always good when the hits come in bunches. That kind of hitting is contagious,” Captains manager Luke Carlin said.

Shortstop Daniel Schneemann was 3-for-4 with a double and season-high four RBI. Catcher Bo Naylor tripled home two runs in the bottom of the first and was 2-for-5 with three RBI.

Right fielder Clark Scolamiero had three doubles and scored three runs in five at-bats.

Shortstop Jose Fermin continued his second half surge. He was 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Fermin is batting .296 with five home runs and 33 RBI.

Left fielder Jonathan Engelmann singled home two runs and scored two runs.

“The most impressive thing tonight was the quality of our at-bats,” Carlin said. “Our batters weren’t ambushing the first fastball they saw. They worked counts and barreled up the ball.”

Lake County reliever Kellen Rholl (2-4, 1.47 ERA) worked two scoreless innings to get the win. Fernandez (7-7, 4.23 ERA) took the loss.

On Aug. 13, the Captains have a rare day off in the middle of a homestand. They swing back into action on Aug. 14 against South Bend in the opener of a three-game series. Captains log