Ramirez’s Grand Slam Gives Cubs Walk-off Win over Loons

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After nine scoreless innings and down to their final strike across three different batters, South Bend Cubs (48-76) (21-36) left fielder Pedro Ramirez launched a grand slam to beat the Great Lakes Loons (65-56) (31-24) 4-1 in 10 innings on a 84-degree cloudy Friday night at Four Winds Field.

- Kelvin Ramirez struck out the first two batters in the tenth. After having a pitch in a two-strike count twice, he walked the next two.

- With the bases loaded, Cubs left fielder Pedro Ramirez fell behind 0-2, worked the count even and then belted a ball over the right field fence.

- The Loons lone run came in the top of the tenth. A Jake Vogel sac bunt put a runner on third and after a strikeout, Josue De Paula stepped in. The 19-year-old blooped a ball into left field. Great Lakes would strand two in the inning.

- Loons’ pitching dominated the first nine innings. Payton Martin struck out four South Bend batters over five innings. He faced the minimum in the first four innings.

- Garrett McDaniels and Jeisson Cabrera combined for the final four innings and struck out a combined seven Cubs.

- South Bend utilized three arms; Nico Zeglin for five innings, Angel Hernandez for three and Jose Romero for the final two.

- Great Lakes left 10 on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They eft the bases loaded in the seventh.

Rounding Things Out

With a Dayton loss, Great Lakes is four games back of first place, with eight games remaining this season.

Up Next

The Loons and Cubs matchup tomorrow Saturday, August 31st. The first pitch is at 7:05 pm.

The Great Lakes Loons have been 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 Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.