Huge Second Inning Carries Fort Wayne to Series-Opening Win

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons returned home from a six-game series in which they dropped four of six games, hoping that the friendly confines of Dow Diamond would help them right the ship.

It was not to be Tuesday night.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps scored six runs in the second inning and never trailed, defeating the Loons, 9-1.

Fort Wayne (18-28) used just three hits, all singles, in the second frame to score their three runs. Loons starter Kyle Hurt walked four batters in the frame, and Julian Smith walked another when he came in to relive Hurt with nobody out in the frame. The TinCaps did not have a play in the inning where more than one run scored, they just pieced them together, one by one, to take a 6-0 lead into the third frame.

Meanwhile, the Loons (25-21) were stymied by terrific TinCaps pitching. Southpaw starter Noel Vela (W, 2-2) spun five scoreless innings of one-hit baseball. He walked five, but struck out nine Loons, and held the Loons hitless until Ismael Alcantara broke through with a one-out single in the fifth inning.

The TinCaps, High-A partners of the San Diego Padres, then turned to reliever Brandon Komar, who was also effective in keeping the Loons off the board. Komar tossed a perfect sixth inning and faced the minimum in the seventh, the one hit he allowed erased by a double play.

Kevin Malisheski tossed a hitless fourth inning for the Loons, allowing a walk but erasing the runner with a pickoff move. He came back out for the fifth, allowing one run on two hits in that frame to extend the Fort Wayne lead to 7-0. Jake Cantleberry relieved him and tossed a perfect sixth before surrendering a two-run homer in the seventh, then tossing another flawless frame in the eighth. The TinCaps held a 9-0 lead going to the ninth.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ affiliate, got on the board with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Alex De Jesus, in his High-A debut, mashed a solo homer 425 feet over the left field wall for his first hit as a Loon. That brought the game to its final score, 9-1.

The TinCaps take the first game of a six-game set at Dow Diamond. These two teams will eventually meet 18 times in 2022: 12 in Midland, six in Fort Wayne.

Great Lakes and Fort Wayne face off for the second game of the set Wednesday night at Dow Diamond, with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Loons righty Kendall Williams (0-2, 4.58 ERA) gets the start for the Loons, opposing fellow righty Efraín Contreras (0-1, 6.17 ERA). It’s another Paws and Claws night, presented by White Claw: enjoy 50% off White Claws all game long and bring your pup to the park. Tickets are still available on Loons.com. Pregame coverage on ESPN 100.9-FM begins at 6:50 p.m. with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland.

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.