Loons Shine in Dayton as the Rain Pours
The Great Lakes Loons ended one of their best road trips in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday. The series finale against the Dayton Dragons went the Loons way at Day Air Ballpark. Another rainy day as the down pour began in the fourth causing a two-hour delay. Great Lakes (33-24) led
The Great Lakes Loons ended one of their best road trips in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday. The series finale against the Dayton Dragons went the Loons way at Day Air Ballpark.
Another rainy day as the down pour began in the fourth causing a two-hour delay. Great Lakes (33-24) led 4-0 with the bases loaded and two outs when the tarp took the field. The Loons continued the rout and won 9-5 over Dayton (36-20).
The Loons, High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, scored in the first for the second day in a row.
Dayton, High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, dug themselves a deeper hole in the fourth. They committed three errors in the inning allowing Great Lakes to blow the game open. One error allowed
James Proctor (L, 4-3) did not return after the delay for Dayton. He allowed six runs, one earned, on six hits and two walks through 3 2/3 innings. Vin Timpanelli replaced Proctor and was the only Dayton reliever to allow a run. Great Lakes scored three more in the fifth. A two-RBI single by Vivas and an RBI single by Alex De Jesus gave the Loons a 9-0 lead.
The Dragons tallied a run in the fifth on a Nick Quintana RBI single to break the shutout. Jacob Cantleberry (W, 2-1) entered for Great Lakes in the sixth. He produced the longest outing of any Loons reliever as Cantleberry pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on one hit and a walk and struck out four. The lone hit was a two-run home run by Garrett Wolforth in the seventh.
Dayton scored two more in an intense ninth inning. The first three batters all walked to load the bases and Cole Duensing came in to shut the door. He struck out two but gave up a two-RBI single to Allan Cerda bringing the game to its 9-5 final score.
Vivas, Cartaya, and DeLuca all had multi-hit games scored a run, and drove in at least one. Every single Loon got on base as they scored the most runs in one game against the Dragons all week. Great Lakes pitching struck out 18 batters. Ryan Sublette, Cole Percival, and Duensing all struck out two to go with Cantleberry’s four and Williams’ eight.
The Loons won five straight against the Dragons to pull within 3 ½ games of them and first place. With nine games remaining in the first half, the race between Dayton and Great Lakes for the only playoff spot has grown closer.
The Loons head home to start their last home stand of the half as they welcome the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (33-23) to Dow Diamond in Midland, Mich. This will be the first meeting between the two teams and features another loaded week of promotions for the Loons to end the month of June. It starts with Flag Day on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. which features veterans running the bases after the game. It is also Hometown Heroes night: active duty military, veterans, first responders and healthcare workers receive a free hot dog meal at the game by showing a service-related ID. Other promotions include lucky hot dog night themed after Willy Wonka’s golden tickets, the first Copa De La Diversión night of three, and the first Marvel series night. Tickets are still available for every game at Loons.com. You can listen to the action all week long on ESPN 100.9-FM
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.