Ching’s Broken Bat Bloop Brings Loons First Win

MIDLAND, Mich. – In 120 Great Lakes Loons games last season, the Loons got a walk-off win just once.

It took just two games in 2022 to match that total.

In the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday at Dow Diamond, Zac Ching broke his bat and flared a looper to shallow left-center field. The ball dropped between the West Michigan shortstop and two outfielders, scoring Leonel Valera from second base and winning the game for the Loons, 5-4.

Despite needing the walk-off hit, Great Lakes (1-1) never trailed in the contest. The Loons were given an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run by Jonny Deluca in the third inning. It was DeLuca's first hit of the season. His second came in his very next at-bat, in the fifth inning: another home run, this time a two-run shot. Both of DeLuca's bombs traveled 373 feet over the left field fence, and he ended his day 2-for-4.

Between the DeLuca home runs, Great Lakes manufactured a run on no hits in the fourth inning, as Joe Vranesh hit a sacrifice fly, driving in Jorbit Vivas, who led off the frame with a walk. All that added up to a 4-0 lead for Great Lakes after five innings, despite just two hits to that point.

Emmet Sheehan had a great day on the bump for the Loons, tossing four scoreless innings in his first start of the season. Sheehan, the right-hander who was the sixth-round pick by the Dodgers in last year’s draft, racked up seven strikeouts and allowed just three baserunners: two hits and a walk. Sheehan set the tone for strikeouts, as the Loons staff would punch out 17 Whitecaps hitters, seven by Sheehan, six by Jordan Leasure–all six outs he recorded were strikeouts–and two each from Jose Hernandez and Ryan Sublette (W, 1-0).

West Michigan (1-1) would not go down without a fight. The Whitecaps scored two runs in the sixth inning to halve the Loons lead. After Parker Meadows led off the inning with a walk, Colt Keith and Austin Murr both doubled in the frame. Murr registered both RBIs in the inning.

The comeback effort continued in the eighth, beginning with a Keith one-out triple. Jake Holton knocked him home with a weak groundout up the first base line, fielded by the pitcher Hernandez. With the bases clear and two outs, Murr singled, then Mike Rothenberg registered his first hit in High-A baseball, a game-tying RBI double.

After the Loons were held scoreless in the eighth, Sublette pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, working around a walk and a single to keep the ’Caps off the board and keep the game tied at four apiece.

In the ninth inning, Valera, the third-year Loon, notched his first hit of the season, a double off the wall in left-center field on the first pitch of the frame. That put a man in scoring position with no outs. Vranesh drew a walk, and two batters later, Ching came through with his heroics, winning the game 5-4 for the Loons, delivering the first win of the year, and tying this inaugural three-game series at one game apiece. The Loons win despite being outhit 9-4; if you’re only going to get four hits, it helps when two of them are home runs.

The rubber match is set for Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Eastern at Dow Diamond, gates open one hour prior. Right-hander Ty Madden gets the nod for West Michigan, facing off against 2021 fourth-rounder Nick Nastrini, a fellow right-handed pitcher. Pregame coverage on ESPN 100.9 FM begins at 12:50 with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland. Every Sunday at Dow Diamond, kids 12 years old and younger receive a free hot dog meal, and all kids are invited to stay after each game and run the bases.

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.