Pitchers’ Duel Ends with Loons’ Walk-Off Single in 10th Inning

MIDLAND, Mich. – Great Lakes Loons righty Emmet Sheehan faced off against Peoria Chiefs righty Inohan Paniagua on Tuesday at Dow Diamond, and each pitcher allowed one run before the Chiefs won, 7-1.

On Sunday, they faced off again, and both improved on their performance from earlier in the week.

Paniagua took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while Sheehan tossed six scoreless frames, in a pitchers’ duel that eventually saw Great Lakes victorious, 1-0 in 10 innings.

The Loons (65-43, 25-17 second half) did not put a runner on base until the fourth inning. With two outs in the frame, Imanol Vargas walked to spoil the perfect game.

Peoria (46-62, 18-24) got its first baserunner an inning earlier. With two outs in the third inning, Noah Mendlinger singled, then moved to second on a Todd Lott base hit. Jacob Buchberger followed that up with a single to short right field, but Mendlinger was thrown out at home by Damon Keith to end the inning.

Great Lakes, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A partner, only allowed one hit the rest of the way, a leadoff single in the fifth inning. Sheehan was spectacular, tossing six scoreless innings and giving up only four hits with no walks and six strikeouts. It is his longest start of his professional career, and his first-ever quality start.

The Chiefs, High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, did not have a baserunner for the remainder of regulation. Ben Casparius tossed two perfect frames with three strikeouts, then Ben Harris (W, 1-0) had a perfect ninth before going into extras.

Vargas singled in the seventh inning to break up the no-hitter and end Paniagua’s day. His final line read one hit, one walk and seven strikeouts in 6 1-3 scoreless innings. Nick Trogrlic-Iverson pitched until extra innings, tossing 2 2-3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, a leadoff single in the ninth to Harold Restituyo.

In the 10th, Osvaldo Tovalin began the inning placed on second base, then Harris walked L.J. Jones to put two men aboard with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt from Tyler Reichenborn put both runners in scoring position with one away. Harris struck out the next two men to keep the game scoreless into the bottom of the 10th.

Aldrich De Jongh was inserted as a pinch runner, placed at second base to begin the home half of the 10th. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, prompting the Peoria infielders to play in. Vargas led off the inning, and poked a looping liner just beyond the reach of the shortstop, dropping in the infield dirt and scoring De Jongh to win the ballgame, 1-0.

After dropping the first game of the series, the Loons win the final five games in a row to defeat Peoria, five games to one, and split the 12-game season series at six games apiece. Great Lakes heads on the road to wrap up a 24-game season series with the Lansing Lugnuts (25-41, 19-23), in which the Loons currently hold a 10-8 lead. First pitch from Jackson Field in Michigan’s state capital is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. Catch the action all week long on ESPN 100.9-FM, beginning at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a 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.