Loons batters walk 12 times in 9-2 stampede

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (14-9) had 12 batters reach on a base on balls and stranded 12 Quad Cities River Bandits (9-13) runners en-route to a 9-2 win on a partly cloudy 54-degree Wednesday night at Dow Diamond.

The walks were early and often. Great Lakes had a two-run bottom of the second, aided by three walks. Two singles from Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Jake Vogel and a walk loaded the bases for Austin Gauthier, who saw four balls, Alex Freeland followed and reached after a five-pitch walk. Quad Cities starter Luinder Avila’s only three walks came in that inning.

Justin Wrobleski struggled with command walking five batters, but only one run materialized. The left-hander allowed a single and two walks in the first but closed it out with a flyout. A two-out walk and a Jack Pineda single put two on, but the 2021 21st-round pick induced another flyout to centerfield.

Due to his pitch count rising, Wrobleski was replaced after loading the bases in the third. An error at shortstop allowed Quad Cities to pull within one, Julian Smith finished the inning with a strikeout.

The River Bandits tied it up at two in the fourth following an RBI single from Gavin Cross, but that was it for the day. Carlos De Los Santos worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning while Mitchell Tyranski retired six straight for his first two-inning outing of the season.

From the fourth through the seventh, the Loons played five runs. Chris Alleyne singled to begin the bottom of the fourth, and Jake Vogel doubled to move into two scoring positions. An Austin Gauthier sacrifice fly made it 3-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, Great Lakes had five walks. In a rough inning for Luis Barroso, the Loons brought two home. The seventh and eighth inning both saw lead-off walks from Alleyne and Taylor Young respectively.

In the seventh, three straight singles helped produce two runs, an RBI single for Jake Vogel and then an RBI groundout from Dalton Rushing with the bases loaded. The eighth saw Vogel lace a sacrifice fly into left that scored Young and an Austin Gauthier single that brought home Griffin Lockwood-Powell who was moved into scoring position after a wild pitch. Gauthier went 3-3, his fifth three-hit game of the season.

The top of the eighth and ninth belonged to Aldry Acosta, who went two innings, working around two singles and an error to complete the contest. The River Bandits and Loons, achieved season-highs in runners left on. 14 for Great Lakes, and 12 for Quad Cities.

Great Lakes, up 2-0 in the series, welcomes back Quad Cities tomorrow Thursday, May 4th, to Dow Diamond. Thursday is Thirsty Thursday, presented by John P. O’Sullivan, where fans 21 and older can enjoy 50% off draft beer all night long. The first pitch is at 6:05 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.