LANSING, Mich. - Sven Schueller threw away a Yeltsin Gudino sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the tenth inning, allowing Reggie Pruitt to race plateward from second base to give the Lansing Lugnuts (1-0, 44-27) a 4-3 victory over the Great Lakes Loons (0-1, 24-45) to open the second half
LANSING, Mich. - Sven Schueller threw away a Yeltsin Gudino sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the tenth inning, allowing Reggie Pruitt to race plateward from second base to give the Lansing Lugnuts (1-0, 44-27) a 4-3 victory over the Great Lakes Loons (0-1, 24-45) to open the second half on Thursday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
The Lugnuts picked up their sixth walk-off win of the year, their second walk-off achieved due to an opponent's error.
After Matt Shannon (Win, 3-2) set the side down in order in the top of the tenth, his second scoreless inning, the Loons elected to intentionally walk Samad Taylor to put runners at first and second. Gudiño bunted directly back to Schueller (Loss, 0-1), who hesitated in picking it up before one-hopping a throw down the right field line, scoring Pruitt and touching off a wild celebration.
The Loons had scored runs in the first inning, second inning and the fourth inning against starter Matt Gunter to take a 3-0 lead. Relievers Brayden Bouchey and Kyle Weatherly stabilized the game with a combined 4 2/3 innings, striking out six Loons, and the Lugnuts' offense set about the task of tying the game.
20-year-old Great Lakes starter Alfredo Tavarez exited following five scoreless innings, with Gudiño greeting new reliever Justin Hoyt in the sixth inning with an infield single. Ryan Noda followed with an RBI double to put the Nuts on the board, down 3-1. Three batters later, Ryan Gold singled in Noda to narrow the Loons' lead to 3-2. The Lugnuts nearly tied the score, but right fielder Romer Cuadrado caught an Andres Sotillo fly and threw out Brandon Grudzielanek to end the inning.
Two innings later, the Gudiño/Noda combo struck again. Gudiño opened the bottom of the eighth with a single against Dan Jagiello (Blown Save, 1). Noda followed with his third hit of the game, lashing an RBI triple into the right field corner to tie the score at 3-3.
Noda finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, giving him a .429 batting average (21-for-49) with 20 RBIs in 13 games played in June. Gudiño was 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk, giving him a .365 average (19-for-52) in June.
Friday night will see the second game in the four-game series between the Lugnuts and Loons, with postgame LAFCU Fireworks following the 7:05 p.m. start between Nuts right-hander Donnie Sellers (4.79 ERA) and Loons right-hander Andre Jackson (2.45). To purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
# # #
