Loons Walk Eight Dragons, Strand 10 runners in 6-4 loss 

DAYTON, Ohio. – Two timely home runs pushed the Dayton Dragons (3-5) past the Great Lakes Loons (3-5) 6-4 on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Day Air Ballpark.

The Loons jumped out to a strong start. Alex Freeland blasted a ball 410 feet over the left-center field fence, to give Great Lakes a 1-0 lead. Freeland’s second homer of the season.

Dayton claimed the lead with their own long ball. A walk and single put two on in the second inning, and Jack Rogers smashed a ball to deep right field to make it Dayton 3-1.

Great Lakes starter Justin Wrobleski adjusted and permitted just one base runner in the third inning. Through three innings, the left-hander worked around five hits striking out three in his first road start in the Midwest League.

After nine Loons were retired, the offense strung together three hits in a two-run fifth inning.* Chris Alleyne* began with a single, and Ismael Alcantara followed up with an RBI double, his first hit of 2023. An Austin Gauthier single put runners on the corners and forced Julian Aguiar out of the contest. Alex Freeland drove in his and the team’s second run of the day, with a sacrifice fly to right.

Orlando Ortiz worked the middle innings for Great Lakes and despite walking four batters, finished without allowing a run.

In the top of the seventh, the Loons left the bases loaded. Alcantara, Gauthier, and* Yeiner Fernandez* all reached via base on balls. Damon Keith could not convert, grounding out to third.

Christian Suarez entered for Great Lakes in the bottom of the seventh. The outing began with a walk, and despite getting two outs, Mat Nelson took advantage of a 2-1 pitch and rifled it to deep left to make it 5-3 Dragons.

Over the next two innings, the Loons stranded three on base. Griffin Lockwood-Powell led off the eighth with a single, a Dayton error moved Lockwood-Powell to third. Chris Alleyne drove home the runner with a sacrifice fly, to bring the score to 5-4. The inning ended with a strikeout with two baserunners on.

A costly error in the eighth plated a sixth Dayton run. Justice Thompson sliced his third hit of the game to left field, Alleyne on the attempted throw, lost his grip, and the ball bounced away allowing Thompson to advance to third. A Luis Chevalier single gave the Dragons a two-run lead.

Alex Freeland got the ninth started with a long flyball that was inches away from his second homer of the day. Dayton’s Blake Dunn in right field made a spectacular catch to deny the four-bagger. Yeiner Fernandez reached on a single, but a fielder’s choice and flyout were as close as Great Lakes got to an equalizer.

The Loons and Dragons matchup for the sixth and final time, tomorrow Sunday, April 16th, with a 1:09 first pitch from Day Air Ballpark.

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.