Loons Whomp Whitecaps 10-0

Midland, Mich. – From start to finish, the Great Lakes Loons (23-13) dominated the West Michigan Whitecaps (21-15), 10-0, on a 66-degree cloudy Thursday night at Dow Diamond. Great Lakes now has a two-game lead in the Midwest League East Division.

The Loons scored five runs in the bottom of the third and seventh. Great Lakes homered twice in the seventh.

Damon Keith smashed his second homer of the series, a two-run shot, and Luis Diaz torched a two-run blast to make it 10-0. Diaz had three hits in the game, his first three-hit game of the season. Chris Alleyne was brought home off the Diaz homer and knocked home Alex Freeland who doubled after Keith’s homer.

The third saw four consecutive hits. With two on, Yeiner Fernandez doubled to bring home both, off a line drive down the left-field line. Taylor Young singled up the middle, his eleventh RBI in the last 10 games. Damon Keith then poked a ball down that sneaked past the third baseman that scored Young from first. A Jake Vogel sacrifice fly to straightaway centerfield made it 5-0.

The Loons' first five runs were all off Carlos Pena, the left-hander allowed just six runs through 28.1 innings before today’s game.

Ronan Kopp started the game and worked around three walks. The southpaw went 3.1 innings, striking out three. West Michigan had two runners reach in the second, the inning ended with Dalton Rushing gunning down the lead runner Danny Serretti trying to steal third.

Aldry Acosta took over after Kopp issued two hits in the fourth, the right-hander forced two flyouts to end the frame. Robbie Peto pitched the sixth through eighth and worked efficiently. In both the sixth and seventh, the leadoff batter reached second but no further. Peto completed the seventh with two straight strikeouts.

Jack Dreyer got the ninth, completing the shutout with a double play. The Loons have now pitched four shutouts, the Whitecaps were shutout for the fifth time this season.

Up 2-1 in the series, Great Lakes welcomes West Michigan back to Dow Diamond tomorrow Friday, May 19th, for game four with a 6:05 first pitch. It is a Feast Friday, presented by Isabella Bank. Enjoy $2 hot dogs, $1 potato chips, $1 16-ounce soft drinks, and $1 ice cream sandwiches at the concession stand.

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.