EASTLAKE, Ohio. – Great Lakes Loons (75-54) (39-26) worked out of jams all afternoon, stranding 14 Lake County Captains (69-59) (32-32) on base, in a 4-2 win on a partly cloudy 75-degree partly cloudy Sunday at Classic Auto Group Park.
- Great Lakes utilized six pitchers who combined for 11 strikeouts. Lake County left the bases loaded in the second, third and fourth inning. Joseilyn Gonzalez pitching with a 2-0 deficit in the second inning and inheriting no outs earned back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to close the frame. Justin Chambers inherited a bases loaded jam in the third and worked out of his own in the fourth.
- The Captains grabbed the first two runs and the Loons scored the final four. Lake County’s Dauri Ferandez singled, stole second and forced an error at shortstop during a pickoff attempt to come home in the first inning. Juan Benjamin doubled home a run in the second.
- Nico Perez walked and stole second base twice. In the top of the fourth, Perez took second and then was plated by an Eduardo Guerrero single. Lake County starter Harrison Bodendorf escaped with two in scoring position to end the fourth. He would not close the fifth. Jose Meza bulleted a 102-mph single into left center. Anson Aroz next-up lifted a two-run homer over the left field fence.
- With a 3-2 lead, Jacob Frost entered and tossed the next three innings. The left-hander struck out two and did not allow a Captain to reach scoring position. Isaac Ayon collected the final six outs and his third save of the season. Lake County put two in scoring position in the ninth, but Ayon induced a flyout caught by left fielder Samuel Munoz in foul territory.
- The Loons grabbed the fourth run on Eduardo Guerrero’s second RBI single of the contest. Guerrero drove in seven runs in the series.
Rounding Things Out
The Loons finished the season with 1397 strikeouts. It was one behind the 2022 Loons 1398. Great Lakes K/9 was 11.29. It is the best mark for a full season MiLB affiliate since the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 11.48 in 2022.
Up Next
The Loons will begin the postseason Tuesday, September 8th. They will host the Dayton Dragons. The first pitch of game one in the three-game Midwest League East Division series is at 7:05 p.m. ET at Dow Diamond. Tuesday is a Two-fer Tuesday featuring two-for-one ballpark favorites.
The Great Lakes Loons have been a partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.