After six runs in the first three innings and a six-inning shutout by starter Justin Hancock, the TinCaps looked to be cruising to a win against Bowling Green on Thursday.FORT WAYNE – Yeison Asencio had one thing on his mind after his sixth-inning line drive got over the head of Great Lakes right fielder Nick Akins – triple.
Asencio put his head down and raced around the bases.
He slid head-first into third, but Loons’ second baseman Jesus Arredondo’s relay throw arrived a split-second sooner. Third baseman Jesse Bosnik applied the tag and Asencio was called out.
That’s how close the right fielder was to becoming the first Fort Wayne player to hit for the cycle since 1993.
Asencio had to settle for a 5-for-5 day in Fort Wayne’s 12-7 victory against Great Lakes in front of 5,053 fans Sunday at Parkview Field.
“I tried to get to third for the cycle,” Asencio said through translator and teammate Luis De La Cruz.
When asked if he thought he made it safely, Asencio replied, “Yes.”
Asencio doubled in the first, hit a solo homer in the third and singled in fifth. He had a double in the sixth but was out trying to stretch to a triple.
He added an RBI single in the eighth. He drove in four runs. Asencio became the second Fort Wayne player in a week to have a 5-for-5 game. Mike Gallic did it Thursday against South Bend.
“(Asencio) saw the ball good today, and not just today, but he’s been hot,” TinCaps manager Jose Valentin said. “He goes up there swinging. He’s not taking too many pitches. Everything he saw was a strike, and he’s hitting it hard. He’s getting some clutch hits.”
Asencio dedicated the game to his father, Ernesto, because Sunday was Father’s Day in the Dominican Republic. Asencio is from San Cristobal.
Rene Lopez was the last Fort Wayne player to hit for the cycle on May 27, 1993, against Beloit.
Asencio had three of Fort Wayne’s season-high nine extra-base hits. The TinCaps (21-14, 52-53 overall) matched a season high with seven doubles. Fort Wayne had 16 hits, which also matched a season high. It’s the fifth straight game with at least 10 hits for the team. The Loons (16-19, 50-55) had 11 hits.
Jace Peterson had two hits for Fort Wayne, including a three-run home run. He scored three runs.
Gallic, Lee Orr and Travis Jankowski also had two hits.
“We’re playing great. From top to bottom, everybody is swinging it well,” Peterson said. “We’re just being aggressive at the plate, getting good pitches to hit putting good swings on them. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
