MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (22-13) for the second consecutive night won via a walk-off with a two-run tenth inning to beat the West Michigan Whitecaps (13-23) 3-2 on a 65-degree sunny Thursday night at Dow Diamond.
- Down 2-1 in the bottom of the tenth, Great Lakes needed two to win. Jose Izarra surprised the West Michigan defense with a bunt to reach and put runners on the corners. After a flyout, Mike Sirota worked a one-out seven-pitch walk to load the bases. Eduardo Quintero was next-up. After a 3-1 pitch that appeared out of the zone was called a strike, he watched the following pitch sail high.
- Tied at two, Jose Meza came to the plate. West Michigan’s Ethan Sloan missed the mark with a wild pitch and Izarra after a slight hesitation sprinted home ahead of a flip by catcher Clayton Campbell to the covering Sloan.
- Whitecaps starter Lucas Elissalt pitched 4.2 innings, allowing one hit through the first four frames. Jose Izarra singled on a two-out two-strike pitch. Chuck Davalan walked and ousted Elissalt. Mike Sirota’s sharp groundball up the third base line took West Michigan third baseman Cristian Santana into foul territory unable to make an out and put Great Lakes on the board.
- Loons pitching permitted no runs and two hits in the first seven innings. Matt Lanzendorfer threw 3.1 scoreless innings and starter Zach Root struck out four across 2.2 innings.
- Tigers No. 2 prospect Bryce Rainer plated a run in the ninth to tie the game. Samuel Gil singled aboard, moved to second on a passed ball and to third base on a flyout. Rainer after fouling off three of the previous four pitches lined a ball to left field with an 108 mph exit velocity.
- West Michigan’s pinch-hitter Andrew Sojka scored the placed runner on a sacrifice fly in the tenth. Nicolas Cruz, who pitched the final three innings, ended the tenth with a punchout.
Rounding Things Out
The last four games between the Loons and Whitecaps have been decided by one run. The series opener and the previous series finale on April 12th were West Michigan 4-3 victories. Great Lakes have taken the last two, a 4-3 walk-off win yesterday and tonight’s
3-2 win.
Up Next
Tomorrow Friday, May 15th, the Loons and Whitecaps face off at 6:05 p.m. ET. Friday features the $10,000 Grand Slam Giveaway, presented by USTA Midwest Northeastern Michigan. If the Loons hit a grand slam, one lucky fan would win ten grand. Tomorrow is a Foodie Friday presented by Isabella Bank.
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.