Loons Fall Short to Whitecaps 5-3
Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (75-55) (30-35) were out edged by the West Michigan Whitecaps (68-61) (36-28) 5-3, who kept their playoff chances alive for one more day on a 72-degree Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark. Entering the night, the Whitecaps trailed the Fort Wayne TinCaps by
Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (75-55) (30-35) were out edged by the West Michigan Whitecaps (68-61) (36-28) 5-3, who kept their playoff chances alive for one more day on a 72-degree Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark.
Entering the night, the Whitecaps trailed the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a half-game in the Midwest League East Division standings with two games left. West Michigan and Fort Wayne were both victorious, meaning a TinCaps win and Whitecaps loss tomorrow seals it for Fort Wayne. West Michigan needs a win and a Fort Wayne loss, if both teams lose, the TinCaps are in.
The first-place finisher faces Great Lakes in the playoffs beginning Tuesday, September 12th. Game two of the series will be at Dow Diamond on Thursday, September 14th, first pitch at 7:05 p.m.
The Whitecaps jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Luke Gold doubled and Gage Workman tripled to right-center field to open the scoring. Next-up was Andrew Jenkins who doubled up the left field line. Hyun-il Choi retired nine of the next 11 he faced.
The Loons in the second inning knotted up the score. Yunior Garcia’s swinging bunt put him aboard to start the inning. Garcia moved to second on a wild pitch and was plated by an Alex Freeland RBI double to left field. Freeland snapped an 0-for-19 stretch. With two outs, Frank Rodriguez ripped a 2-2 pitch into right field, to tie the score. It was Rodriguez’s first game started on July 30th.
Nick Biddison handed Great Lakes their first lead of the game in the fifth inning. Facing the newly entered Garrett Burhenn, Biddison launched the first pitch Burhenn threw 350 feet to deep left field. The 23-year-old delivered his first home run in his 25th game as a Loon.
Luke Gold responded for West Michigan with a go-ahead two-run homer. Austin Murr tripled off Choi to start the inning and Gold for the second straight night, went yard. Choi did earn a sixth strikeout in the inning, and Christian Suarez closed the fifth with a strikeout.
Suarez pitched a clean sixth, finishing with three strikeouts. Ronan Kopp punched out two in the seventh. The Dodgers No. 16 prospect according to MLB.com has 107 strikeouts in 72.1 innings. Michael Hobbs sat down the first two faced in the eighth. Izzac Pacheco smashed a deep fly to center field on a 3-2 pitch with two outs, making it 5-3.
In the final four innings, Loons hitters struck out eight times. Alex Freeland had the lone hit, a single in the sixth. The series stands at 3-2 Whitecaps, with the final game of the regular season tomorrow Sunday, September 10th. The first pitch is at 2:00 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.