By Bill Center
Lake County broke a 4-4 tie with an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday night to defeat the Padres low Single-A Fort Wayne affiliate 5-4 and eliminate the TinCaps from the Midwest League playoffs.
Lake County won the best-of-3 East Division Championship Series 2-0.
Fort Wayne had scored three runs in the top of the eighth to tie Sunday’s game 4-4. The decisive run scored on a throwing error by TinCaps shortstop Trea Turner.
Catcher John Nester led Fort Wayne, going 2-for-3 with a double, a RBI and a run scored. He led the TinCaps in the playoffs with a .429 batting average over five games. Third baseman Dustin Peterson, who was 1-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI Sunday, hit .412 in the playoffs.
Second baseman Josh VanMeter, who was 1-for-3 with a walk Sunday, hit .294 in the playoffs.
Designated hitter Fernando Perez, a product of Otay Ranch High, had a double in five at-bats Sunday and scored a run. He was 3-for-10 in the playoffs.
Right-handed starter Ronald Herrera allowed three runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. All three runs scored on a fourth-inning homer by Lake County first baseman Nellie Rodriguez that wiped out a 1-0 TinCaps lead.
Right-handed reliever Colby Blueberg allowed a run on a hit and a walk with a strikeout in an inning. Right-hander Jason Jester allowed two hits with a strikeout in 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Right-handed reliever Eric Yardley suffered the loss, allowing the unearned run on a hit and two walks with two strikeouts while pitching the bottom of the eighth.
Fort Wayne finished 63-76 in the regular season. Fort Wayne’s biggest problem this season was defense. The TinCaps committed 208 errors and allowed 133 unearned runs in 139 games – the second-highest total for a full-season, minor league team.
First baseman Jake Bauers, 18, made the Midwest League post-season All-Star team although he was the youngest position player in the league. Bauers, who was the league’s Player of the Month in May after being held in extended spring training for the first month of the season because of his age, finished with a .296 average with a .376 on-base percentage. He had 18 doubles, three triples and eight homers for 64 RBIs in 112 games.
Perez, 20, hit .284 with 18 homers and had 95 RBIs, breaking the franchise RBI record previously held by Padres outfielder Will Venable. He committed 24 errors while playing first, second and third.
Turner, the Padres first-round pick in the June draft (13th overall), hit .369 with 14 doubles, two triples, four homers, 14 steals, 22 RBIs and 31 runs scored while committing only three errors in 46 regular season games for Fort Wayne. He had a .474 on-base percentage.
Peterson hit .233 10 with homers and 79 RBIs, but committed 38 errors. Right fielder Franmil Reyes hit .248 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs. VanMeter hit .254 with three homers and 39 RBIs.
Right-hander starter Kyle Lloyd was 6-5 with a 3.61 earned run average in 27 games (21 starts) for the TinCaps. He had a system-leading 155 strikeouts in 119 2/3 innings. Left-hander Jeffery Enloe was 6-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 14 games (12 starts). And Herrera was 3-5 with a 4.26 ERA in 17 games (16 starts).
Right-hander reliever Ryan Butler had a 0.83 ERA with 10 saves in 11 chances with 30 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings. Right-hander Nick Mutz was 2-5 with a 2.29 ERA, nine saves in 15 attempts and 51 strikeouts in 51 innings. Right-handed reliever Justin Livengood was 7-1 with a 3.46 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings.
Jester, the 23rd-round pick in June, was 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 19 late-season appearances with 27 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. Yardley was 2-4 with a 2.95 ERA in 42 appearances.
