Mike Couzens has been named manager of broadcasting and media relations, the Fort Wayne TinCaps announced today.
Chris Kersten launched a long home run to the left field concourse for Lake County in the top of the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the TinCaps.
Danny Payne answered for Fort Wayne in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run that bounced off the concourse and landed on the green awning above the event center in right field.
When a team has been as hot as the TinCaps recently, it doesn’t take much time to respond. A night after seeing an eight-game winning streak end, Fort Wayne bounced back by beating the Captains 10-6 in front of 3,813 fans at Parkview Field.
“The big thing is bouncing back. You can’t win them all. But we set the tone early, got ahead and the pitchers did a good job keeping us in the game,” Payne said.
The TinCaps (28-17, 64-51 overall) utilized their power to win for the 16th time in 20 games.
“It’s been a blast,” Payne said of the run.
Seven of the 10 runs were scored as a result of an extra-base hit.
“We’ve been swinging the bat really well lately. We did a good job of getting our pitch and executing in the right situations,” Payne said. “Our three, four, five guys (Jason Hagerty, Nate Freiman and Jedd Gyorko) have been on fire lately. All you have to do is get on in front of them.”
Freiman hit a two-run homer to go along with Payne’s home run. Gyorko hit a two-run double. Everett Williams added a two-run triple in a four-run eighth inning. The TinCaps reached double-digits in runs for the third time in seven games.
Hagerty had three hits and scored two runs. Freiman and Jonathan Galvez added two hits. Jeudy Valdez had two RBI.
“They are at a point right now where they are seeing the ball well,” TinCaps manager Jose Flores said. “Getting a spark from Everett (at No. 9 in the order) is always a plus. … It’s always a plus when you have the middle of the order guys driving in runs and then when you get something from the bottom, it’s a plus too.”
The TinCaps jumped ahead with two runs in the first on the double by Gyorko.
Freiman’s two-run home run capped a three-run second, extending the lead to 5-0.
“You are always in an advantage when you score first,” Flores said. “The way we came out, set the tone early. Any time you can get off to a good start, it works to your advantage.”
Kersten hit his home run for Lake County (21-24, 65-49) with one out in the fourth. But Payne swung the momentum back Fort Wayne’s way with his seventh home run of the year.
The TinCaps sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth.
Note: Fort Wayne activated pitcher Jason Adams from the disabled list. Reliever Robert Poutier was placed on the disabled list.
