Lake County scored the winning run on a two-out RBI double by Joe Sever, who was able to bat because Dorssy Paulino reached on a wild pitch third strike.
It was the second straight loss to Lake County, and dropped the Hot Rods to 3-2 in the second half.
Here are post game comments from manager Jared Sandberg and reliever Nick Sawyer.

Sandberg
“That’s what it comes down to. Sever got to a good count there and hit the double. I didn’t expect 1-0 to beat us, but you have to tip your cap to Ryan Merritt. He pitched an unbelievable game.”

“We were a bit unlucky. The line out to end the game. Toles line out could have put us on the board. Other than that, we couldn’t really get anything going. You definitely have to tip your cap (to Lake County).

“Jeff didn’t have his best command, but I thought he showed a great slider when he needed it. That pitch kind of bailed him out. He made pitches when he need to, but he was definitely able to get into the sixth despite five walks.”

“Nick has only pitched three innings I think one other time, so he did a nice job commanding the strike zone. He had a plus fastball and got some swings out of the zone, which he tends to do with his fastball. There is a lot of positives you can take from both pitchers tonight.”

“We’re looking for some consistency. When you win three games then lose two, it is too much of a roller coaster. It would be nice to right the ship (today) for sure.”

Sawyer
“It’s kind of tough. I thought it was gonna to be a quick inning like the other two innings. I should have made better pitch selection I guess. It’s difficult being a reliever. You have your ups and downs, your good days and your bad days. You just have to learn to work through it and try to have more good days than bad.”

“I rushed myself going to the plate and I didn’t get my rhythm back. I wasn’t in tune with my body and I gave up my command.”