Loons Win 75th Game, Fight Off Whitecaps 5-4

September 7, 2023

Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (75-53) (30-33) held the West Michigan Whitecaps (66-61) (34-28) to two baserunners in the final three innings, securing a 5-4 win on a 71-degree cloudy Thursday night at LMCU Ballpark. Yunior Garcia delivered the game-winning hit. He laced the first pitch he

Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (75-53) (30-33) held the West Michigan Whitecaps (66-61) (34-28) to two baserunners in the final three innings, securing a 5-4 win on a 71-degree cloudy Thursday night at LMCU Ballpark.

Yunior Garcia delivered the game-winning hit. He laced the first pitch he saw into left field to bring the score to 5-4 with two outs in the seventh inning. Dalton Rushing was plated, getting to second base on a double and moving to third on a passed ball.

Christian Suarez, in the bottom of the seventh, struck out two. Jack Dreyer extended his scoreless inning streak to seven innings, in the eighth. The left-hander punched out three straight Whitecaps, after permitting an infield single and walk. Michael Hobbs finished things in the ninth, a 1-2-3 inning. Hobbs has seven saves in nine opportunities.

Five of the nine runs scored in the game were plated in the third inning. Jake Vogel and Taylor Young delivered back-to-back singles to kickstart the frame. Dalton Rushing walked on four pitches to load the bases for Yeiner Fernandez. Fernandez connected on a 2-0 pitch deep to right field banging off the fence and clearing the bases. The 20-year-old finished at third, his third triple of 2023.

Jerming Rosario started for the Loons and completed five innings for the third straight outing. The right-hander had two innings where he faced the minimum. Only three hits came against Rosario. Austin Murr’s solo shot pulled West Michigan within three in the bottom of the third.

The Whitecaps knotted up the score in the sixth. Luke Gold and Andrew Jenkins both singled and with two outs, Izaac Pacheco came up. The 20-year-old sent the equalizer 342 feet to right field, a three-run home run off Sauryn Lao. Lao held the potential go-ahead run at second forcing a popup to close the sixth. West Michigan struck out nine times, five in the final three innings.

Entering the night, the Whitecaps trailed the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a half-game in the Midwest League East Division standings. The live standings are available at milb.com/great-lakes/standings/. The first-place finisher faces Great Lakes beginning Tuesday, September 12th. With a 2-1 Loons lead in the series, game four is tomorrow Friday, September 8th. The first pitch is at 6:35 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.