Lake County Walk-off Home Run Sinks Loons

The Great Lakes Loons capitalized on the longball in their most recent series, leaving the yard nine times – second-most in the Midwest League over the week.

In their series opener Tuesday against the Lake County Captains, the longball bit them back.

The Captains hit three blasts, including one of the walk-off variety, to defeat the Loons, 4-3, at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio.

The Loons (58-39, 18-13 second half) opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning. Jorbit Vivas led off the frame with a single, then Eddys Leonard doubled to put two men in scoring position with nobody out. Vivas scored on an Imanol Vargas RBI groundout, giving Great Lakes a 1-0 lead. After a walk, the Loons had runners on the corners with one out, but squandered that opportunity.

Lake County (52-43, 17-12) responded in the bottom of the same frame. Alexfri Planez blasted a solo shot over the left center field wall, his 14th homer of the year, to tie the game at one apiece. Just two pitches later, Johnathan Rodriguez blasted a home run to a similar spot – his 16th bomb of the season gave the Captains a 2-1 lead.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, tied the game in the next half-frame. Ismael Alcantara reached on an error, stole second and advanced to third on the play, then scored on a Vivas sacrifice fly to even the score at 2-2.

Loons starter Kendall Williams came out of the game after a strong five innings. Williams allowed two earned runs on five hits. While he did not strike out a batter, he also did not walk a batter.

In the top of the seventh inning, Great Lakes broke the tie. Harold Restituyo singled to kick off the frame, then Alcantara bunted him to second. He got to third on a passed ball before Vivas got his second hit and second RBI, pushing the Loons in front, 3-2.

The Captains, High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, would not trail for long. In the home half of the seventh, Petey Halpin walked, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Gabriel Rodriguez came through with the clutch hit, an RBI single, to knot the game again, this time at three-all.

Loons lefty Jeff Belge came in to toss the eighth inning, plus one batter in the ninth, and was superb. The southpaw walked one batter, but struck out the other four Captains he faced.

That gave the Loons a chance in the top of the ninth, but Alaska Abney (W, 6-2) shut down the Great Lakes offense. He began with two strikeouts, then Jose Ramos walked for a career-high third time. It wouldn’t matter, though – Abney struck out the next batter on three pitches.

After Belge exited in the ninth, Cole Duensing (L, 3-4) came into the game. He tossed just two pitches to Rodriguez before he came through with an even bigger clutch hit than his seventh-inning RBI single: a walk-off home run, his eighth of the year, to give Lake County the 4-3 win.

The Loons offense mustered just four hits, two of them singles from Vivas. The lone extra-base hit was the Leonard double.

The Loons fall behind in the series, but hold an advantage in the season set over Lake County, seven games to six. The six-game series in Eastlake continues Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland, kicking off ESPN 100.9-FM pregame coverage at 6:45 p.m. Right-hander Emmet Sheehan (5-2, 3.49 ERA) toes the rubber for Great Lakes, opposing Lake County lefty Rodney Boone (1-2, 4.88 ERA).

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-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 ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.