Loons Leave 14 On Base, Lugnuts Land 8-6 Win

Lansing, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (58-29) had multiple runners reach base in eight of the nine innings but went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position letting the Lansing Lugnuts (40-47) prevail 8-6 on a 79-degree partly cloudy Friday night at Jackson Field.

Only three of the nine innings saw no score from either side. Great Lakes started strong, Taylor Young walked on six pitches to lead off the game and was plated by a two-out RBI single by Luis Diaz. The Loons made it 2-0 in the second, Jake Vogel doubled home Max Hewitt from first base.

Lansing responded scoring six on Maddux Bruns in four innings. After a CJ Rodriguez sacrifice fly in the second, the Lugnuts tallied three in the third. Eurbiel Angeles singled to begin the third and stole second base. After two strikeouts, Daniel Susac walked on five pitches, and Angeles stole third. On an 0-2 pitch, Colby Thomas sliced a single to the vacant right side of the infield tying the score.

Junior Perez was next-up and double down the left-field line scoring Susac and Thomas. Lansing added two in the fourth off two two-out hits, a Danny Bautista Jr. single, and Joshwan Wright two-run double. Bautista Jr. was sprinting toward second when the ball was put into play and scored from first.

Great Lakes knotted up the score at four in the top of the fourth but could not add more. Jake Vogel reached on an error at third base to begin the inning, and Taylor Young singled to right field to put two on. Dalton Rushing, the Dodgers' No. 3 prospect pulled the Loons within one with a line drive and smoked 101 miles per hour into right field.

Damon Keith followed up with a hot shot straight back to the mound that was misfired to first from Lansing’s Mitch Myers. Young scored and Myers was removed. Mac Lardner took over collecting the final two outs and tossing a scoreless fifth, working around two walks.

With the score 6-4 in the top of the sixth, Great Lakes once again gained two walks. Damon Keith and Luis Diaz reached on back-to-back base on balls. Kenneth Betancourt in his fourth game as a Loon in 2023, struck a sharp ground ball that deflected off the glove of Lugnuts third baseman T.J. Schofield-Sam and into left field, plating Keith.

After a clean fifth, Mitchell Tyranski gave up two straight hits and a run in the sixth. Euribel Angeles doubled home T.J. Schofield-Sam. Schofield-Sam was in motion when Angeles lifted one to deep right field.

In the seventh, Great Lakes once again had two batters reach on a walk with a Jake Vogel single loading the bases. A wild pitch from Stevie Emanuels made it 7-6, but after a third walk of the inning, a double play closed the frame.

Lansing added an insurance run in the seventh. With two outs and a runner on third, CJ Rodriguez skied a ball to the left side of the infield and after a miscommunication fell to the dirt, permitting Rodriguez to come across home.

The Loons' final chance came in the ninth, where once again they had two walks. Lugnuts reliever Jack Owen came on to end the threat forcing a groundout.

The series is split at two games apiece, each game was decided by two runs. Game five in the series is tomorrow Saturday, July 22nd. 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.