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GREENSBORO -- The Hoppers didn't come up with many runs Sunday evening at NewBridge Bank Park. But with Johnny Dorn on the mound, that wasn't a requirement.

Dorn continued his strong season by allowing no earned runs and four hits in eight innings against Lake County to give the Hoppers an important 3-1 win as they try to get out of an early rut in the season's second half.

"I thought he mixed his pitches &ellipses; well," manager Darin Everson said. "In certain counts where a fastball was maybe expected, he did a nice job of coming with other stuff."

Dorn didn't strike anyone out in the first three innings, but he did make excellent use of his infielders during that time to keep the Captains off the scoreboard.

Each of his first three innings featured a ground-ball double play, including one that he started in the second.

"Big boost," he said of the double plays. "When you get a guy on early in the inning, that's what you're trying to do is get a ground ball somewhere. And it worked out."

Greensboro found a way to give their starter some support.

Justin Jacobs' homer in the first started things off, and Jeremy Synan drove in Kevin Mattison with a single in the third to make it 2-0 and give Dorn some breathing room. Mattison's single in that inning gives him a 10-game hitting streak -- tied for longest on the team this season.

Ben Lasater pounded a ball up the middle in the fifth to drive home Jacobs for the third run, though Dorn barely needed it the way he cruised through the later innings.

After using his fielders early, he struck out one batter in each inning from the fourth through the eighth.

"I really tried to establish the fastball early and didn't show them too much off-speed until the third or fourth inning," he said. "I'm not a big, overpowering guy anyway."

He retired 14 of the last 16 men he faced, and the lone blemish on the scoreboard came on an unearned run in the eighth thanks to a throwing error on a stolen base. Only three Lake County runners advanced past second base during the entire game.

"I thought when he needed a pitch on the black, I thought he put a pitch on the black," Everson said. "And he did a great job mixing his pitches with an umpire that didn't give a whole lot of the bottom of the zone. So I mean very good, just outstanding."

The Greensboro bullpen was extremely quiet thanks to the quality starting pitching, but closer Pete Andrelczyk had an easy 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win and get his 14th save.

The Hoppers, who broke a three-game losing streak and are now 3-7 in the second part of the season, have relied on Dorn's consistency all year.

He averages 6.2 innings a start, and Sunday's performance lowered his ERA to 3.00 and raised his record to 8-5.

"He's Mr. Decision because he goes so deep usually that it's either the win or the loss," Everson said.

"And obviously there are multiple games where we could have gotten him more, and he'd have more wins right now. But one thing he's done is he's been so consistent. And that's what we look for in the game, is the consistency of repeating everything you do. And he does a great job of doing that and giving us a chance to win every time he's out there."

Contact Jesse Baumgartner at 373-7061 or jesse.baumgartner@news-record.com

LAKE COUNTY GREENSBORO

E--Thompson (16), Dayleg (1), Dorn (3), Taylor (2). DP--Lake County 1, Greensboro 3. LOB--Lake County 3, Greensboro 7. HR--Jacobs (7). SB--Thompson (6), Mattison (31), Jacobs (10). CS--Bass (2). S--Webb.

WP--Perez. PB--Abraham.

Umpires--Home, Danielsen. Base, Moisan.

T--2:09. A--3,963.