Loons Win 44th Game, Achieve Winningest Half in Franchise History

Comstock Park, Mich.– The Great Lakes Loons (44-20) scored eight runs in the final three innings trouncing the West Michigan Whitecaps (32-32) 8-3 on an 89-degree Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark.

With one game remaining in the first half of the season, the Great Lakes Loons have won 44 of the 64 games they’ve played. Their .687 winning percentage beats the 2010 Loons who in the second half of the season went 47-23, a .671 winning percentage.

Trailing 2-0 into the seventh, the Loons reached just their fifth batter of the night. Alex Freeland walked on six pitches. With two outs, Griffin Lockwood-Powell facing his former Central Michigan University teammate Cam Brown, belted a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence 342 feet to tie up the score.

In the eighth, Jake Vogel sliced a single to left field. Luis Diaz delivered an automatic double that hopped over the right field fence and scored Vogel to make it 3-2.

The Loons distanced themselves in the ninth with four runs on four hits. Taylor Young snapped a double down the right-field line. Griffin Lockwood-Powell then lined a ball to center field to make it 4-2. That was followed by a Jake Vogel walk and a Chris Newell RBI single. Newell and Vogel executed a double steal and were both plated by a two-run single by Luis Diaz.

Both teams were held scoreless through the first four innings. Great Lakes starter Ronan Kopp, bounced back after a first-inning error to strikeout two to close that frame. The left-hander struck out four over four innings, allowing just two hits.

West Michigan tallied one run in the fifth. Austin Murr reached base on a bunt single, moved into scoring position after a dropped third strike, and scored on a wild pitch. Reinaldo De Paula finished strong with a strikeout and a groundball.

Jerming Rosario earned a second straight win pitching three innings, his lone mistake an Eliezer Alfonzo solo home run in the sixth. The right-hander punched out four and stranded two runners in the eighth, protecting a two-run lead and forcing a flyout to left from Alfonzo.

Carlos De Los Santos capped the Whitecaps in the ninth. Jace Jung's sacrifice fly to center field was their lone run in their final chance.

Great Lakes have won the first two games of the series and return to LMCU ballpark with a matchup against West Michigan tomorrow Thursday, June 22nd. The first pitch is at 6:35 p.m.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the 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.