Loons Early Lead Evaporates Quickly, Cubs Take Series Finale
At Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend, Ind., Sunday night, the Great Lakes Loons needed a win to split the series. In the ninth inning, trailing the South Bend Cubs by four runs, found themselves down to their final out with nobody on base. Eddys Leonard reached
At Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend, Ind., Sunday night, the Great Lakes Loons needed a win to split the series. In the ninth inning, trailing the South Bend Cubs by four runs, found themselves down to their final out with nobody on base.
But the Cubs brought in a new pitcher, and he needed just three pitches to record the final out on a ground ball. South Bend won its fourth game of the six-game series, 7-5.
The Loons (25-20) got out to an early lead in the first inning. With two outs, Vivas singled to keep the inning alive. Ramos then blasted his second home run of the week, and his second as a Loon, to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage.
The Cubs (27-18) ensured that the Loons’ lead didn’t last long. South Bend put its first two men aboard before Yohendrick Pinango scored them both with a single. Pinango advanced to second after a walk, stole third, then scored on a Pablo Aliendo single to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead, and they wouldn’t trail the rest of the game. Emmet Sheehan (L, 0-1) would toss another inning, finishing with two frames, allowing four hits and three earned runs. He walked one and struck out one.
South Bend, the High-A partner of the Chicago Cubs, added to its advantage in the fourth inning. After two walks and a single loaded the bases, Jordan Nwogu drove in one with a sacrifice fly, then an RBI single from Yeison Santana pushed another run across. Cole Percival got the final two outs of the frame to strand two runners aboard. His final line read three innings of four-hit baseball, allowing two earned runs while walking a pair and picking up two strikeouts.
Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ affiliate, would begin its comeback effort in the fifth inning.
The Cubs would answer in the sixth. Antonio Knowles walked the first two batters he faced, then got the next two outs of the inning without a run scoring. With two down, Jake Slaughter doubled home both runners to pad the lead, 7-3 in the home side’s favor. Julian Smith came in and got the final out of the sixth to strand both inherited runners, then tossed a scoreless seventh as well. Adam Scoggins pitched in the eighth and was perfect, picking up a strikeout.
The Loons threated in the ninth inning, scoring on the Vivas double and the Vargas bases-loaded walk, but Walker Powell (SV, 1) tossed just three pitches to get the final out of the game. It was a tough play on a sharply-hit grounder, but the first baseman Slaughter made the diving stop, tossed to Powell covering the bag, and secured the win, stranding the bases loaded and the tying runner on second base.
South Bend takes four of the six games in the series, the only time these two teams will meet. The Cubs continue to have incredible success at home, now 20-7 at Four Winds Field. The Loons return home for a six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps (17-28), beginning Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Dow Diamond in Midland, Mich. It kicks off a jam-packed week of promotions that includes a celebrity sighting (Jay Jackson of NBC’s Parks and Recreation), pride night, Star Wars night and more. Tuesday is a 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. After the game, veterans are invited to run the bases, the day after Memorial Day. Tickets are still available for all the fun next week at Loons.com. Catch all 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.