Whitecaps Hold Off Loons 6-4

Midland, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (63-39) (18-19) left five on base in the final four innings dropping the series opener 6-4 to the West Michigan Whitecaps (52-49) (20-16) on an 74-degree cloudy Tuesday night at Dow Diamond. The game’s first pitch was delayed 45 minutes due to a pop-up rain shower.

Down 6-3 entering the bottom of the ninth, Max Hewitt singled to lead off the inning. After a strikeout, Taylor Young roped an RBI double 397 feet off the top of the left-center field wall. West Michigan’s Dario Gardea punched out the next two, both batters were the potential tying run.

Ronan Kopp started for Great Lakes, striking out six Whitecaps. The left-hander allowed three runs off one hit. A Josh Crouch three-run home run in the second inning.

The Loons through five innings, had just one hit an Alex Freeland single. Taylor Young got the Loons on the board with a 393-foot deep blast to left field. Young has three home runs in his last nine games.

Sauryn Lao and Mitchell Tyranski kept West Michigan in the middle innings. The Whitecaps padded their lead back to three with a Brady Allen RBI single in the seventh.

Great Lakes had their biggest inning in the seventh, getting two runs. Griffin Lockwood-Powell started the inning with a double and was plated by a Jake Vogel sacrifice fly to center field. A Taylor Young fielder’s choice plated Chris Alleyne, Alleyne reached on a nine-pitch walk.

In the top of the eighth, West Michigan’s Dom Johnson was responsible for two insurance runs. Johnson smacked an RBI double, stole third, and then scored on a wild pitch. Both runs were given up by Carlos De Los Santos. The right-hander tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Loons stranded two runners. Gabriel Sequeira, struck out Chris Alleyne to end the inning.

The Loons and Whitecaps play game two tomorrow Wednesday, August 9th. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday is a Paws and Claws night with 50% off on White Claws and an appearance by Zeke the Wonderdog, a Michigan frisbee dog tradition.

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.