Loons Fight Off Lugnuts 9-7

Lansing, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (57-28) two insurance runs plated in the eighth inning was enough to hang on against the Lansing Lugnuts (39-46) 9-7 on an 80-degree cloudy Wednesday night at Jackson Field.

Jack Dreyer, who pitched two scoreless innings last night, started as the designated hitter tonight, with the Loons having just eight available position players. With two on in the eighth inning, Dreyer successfully bunted to move the runners into scoring position. Taylor Young drove in both runners with an RBI single, the third of his three hits to make it 9-1.

Great Lakes scored seven of their nine runs in the first three innings. After a Taylor Young single led off the first, Dalton Rushing rocketed a ball to deep centerfield 439 feet. The Dodgers No. 3 Prospect now has nine home runs in 61 games with the Loons.

In the third inning, all nine batters for Great Lakes had a plate appearance. Young and Rushing each reached for Damon Keith, who lifted a one-hop double off the left-field wall to score Young. Rushing moved to third and was plated on a Luis Diaz 6-2 fielder’s choice. The throw was in time, but Lansing catcher CJ Rodriguez thought it was a forceout at the plate, and didn’t apply a tag.

With two on and two out, Frank Rodriguez took Joelvis Del Rosario deep to right-center field, a three-run home run. Rodriguez’s fifth home run in 32 games.

The Lugnuts scored their lone run off Kendall Williams in the third, an RBI single from Joshwan Wright. The right-hander finished five innings for the second time in his five appearances, striking out four.

Six of Lansing’s seven runs came in the eighth, all unearned. A CJ Rodriguez double began things and was followed by a Frank Rodriguez error trying to convert a 2-3 groundout. Two outs, a strikeout and a popup, were forced by Christian Suarez. Daniel Susac next-up, skied a payoff pitch up the right field line that Max Hewitt in right field overcommitted on. Susac tripled, plating two.

Susac scored on a RBI single to left field from Danny Bautista Jr. Junior Perez powered an RBI double, and after a Brennan Milone walk, Eurbiel Angeles singled home Perez. Carlos De Los Santos replaced Suarez, but CJ Rodriguez doubled for the second time in the inning to score Milone and made it 9-7. With the bases loaded, De Los Santos ended the inning with a three-pitch strikeout.

Juan Morillo entered in the ninth and worked around a two-out walk retiring Junior Perez to end the game. With the win, the Loons now have an all-time record of 143-142 against the Lugnuts.

Great Lakes and Lansing play game three of the six-game series tomorrow Thursday, July 20th. The first pitch is at 7:05 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.