LANSING, Mich. – Jackson Nove pitched a career-high 5 ⅔ innings, allowing just one run, and the offense exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning to catapult the Lansing Lugnuts (26-35, 55-70) to a resounding 10-1 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (26-34, 53-73) on Wednesday night at JacksonⓇ Field™.
The Lugnuts continue their strong play at home, winning 14 of their last 17 games in Michigan’s state capital.
In his fourth game at the High-A level, Nove was electric, limiting the TinCaps to three hits, one run and two walks with four strikeouts in a career-high 5 ⅔ innings.
On offense, after leaving the bases loaded in the second inning, Lansing broke through in the third. New addition Alex Fernandes led off the inning with his first professional hit, a line drive single into left field off starter Matthew Watson, before Jared Davis fired a double down the left-field line and a Breyson Guedez sacrifice fly to right brought Fernandes home for a 1-0 Lugnuts lead. Two batters later, Dylan Fien plated Davis with a soft infield single to give Lansing a 2-0 edge.
In the fourth, the Lugnuts offense went nuclear. A Tanner Marsh strikeout began the bottom of the frame, but Gunner Gouldsmith drew a walk off reliever Brandon Langley before stealing second and taking third on a throwing error by catcher Lamar King Jr. Another sacrifice fly to right, this time from Fernandes, made it 3-0.
With two outs, a Davis walk and Guedez single put runners at the corners, and a Jake Reinisch RBI single to right extended the Lugnut advantage. A Fien swing and miss strikeout should have ended the inning, but a wild pitch from Langley allowed the hitter to reach first safely and load the bases. Myles Naylor and C.J. Pittaro followed with back-to-back two-run singles to launch Lansing to an 8-0 lead.
The avalanche of runs forced Fort Wayne to make a pitching change, calling on Florangel Vasquez to try and collect the final out. Instead, Gouldsmith drove in a ninth run with an RBI single to right-center field, and Fernandez capped off the eight-run cruise with an RBI single to left, gifting Lansing a 10-0 lead that proved plenty.
The Lugnuts needed only two pitchers in the outing; after Nove exited with two outs in the sixth, Gerlin Rosario finished the final 3 ⅓ innings, allowing three hits while striking out three.
In the winning cause, all but one Lugnut recorded a hit. Fien slashed 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. In his second professional game, Fernandes also went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Pittaro and Guedez each ended with two hits and one run scored, and Pittaro collected two RBIs while Guedez drove in one. Reinisch went 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored, elongating his on-base streak to 41 games, the second-longest current streak in the minors.
Samuel Dutton is scheduled to start on Thursday, rivaling San Diego Padres No. 6 prospect Bryan Balzer. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a Coors Light Thirsty Thursday featuring Greek Night, celebrating fraternities and sororities, and Michigan State University Night, with a special ticket package available that includes an MSU bucket hat. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.
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