Loons Strand 12 River Bandits, Pilarski Notches Eighth Save

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (15-9) received great outings from the reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Yon Castro, and Minor League Baseball’s saves leader Jake Pilarski in a 4-2 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits (9-14) on a 63-degree partly cloudy Thursday evening.

Great Lakes for the third straight game plated a run in the first two innings. Taylor Young doubled to lead off the bottom of the second, would steal third, and a throwing error from the catcher resulted in the 24-year-old.

Yon Castro stranded six River Bandits through five innings. In the fourth, Carter Jensen and River Town both singled, with two outs the right-hander forced a flyout to second base to end the inning.

The fifth saw a leadoff single followed by two strikeouts. A throwing error at shortstop, once again put two on, with Cayden Wallace stepping up. The Royals No. 5 prospect was retired three times by Castro, the fifth closed with the 23-year-old getting his fifth strikeout. Castro has worked the last 10 innings without permitting a run.

The Loons in the sixth got two runs, helped by three walks. Alex Freeland with the bases loaded, rifled the second pitch he saw into right field, making it 3-0.

Jack Dreyer battled but bested five Quad Cities batters for 1.1 innings with three strikeouts. Michael Hobbs closed out the seventh forcing a flyout.

In the top of the eighth, Cayden Wallace came through in his fourth plate appearance doubling to right-center. Carter Jensen on an 0-2 pitch pulled the River Bandits within one, with a 395-foot homer. Hobbs ended the eighth, leaving a runner aboard.

Yunior Garcia supplied power and insurance in the bottom of the eighth, a high fly ball that stayed fair down the left field line. The blast made it 4-2. The Loons have scored 10 runs in the seventh inning and beyond in the first three games of the series.

In every inning but the first, Quad Cities had runners reach, including loading the bases in the ninth.

Jake Pilarski lost the first batter he faced after a starting up 1-2, the at-bat resulted in a walk. With one out and a 1-2 count, Javier Vaz laced a 99 mph fastball down the left field line and walked then followed. Pilarski then dialed in, using his change-up to rid Gavin Cross and the heater to beat Carter Jensen to earn his eighth save in nine attempts.

The Loons have taken four in a row, the first three in this series. Tomorrow May 5th, will see game four, with a first pitch at 6:05. You can make Cinco De Mayo at Dow Diamond a Feast Friday presented by Isabella Bank. Enjoy $2 hot dogs, $1 potato chips, $1 16-ounce soft drinks, and $1 ice cream sandwiches.

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.