Whitecaps Score Four Unanswered, Best Loons 6-5

Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (74-53) (29-33) led 5-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, but four West Michigan Whitecaps (66-60) (33-27) runs in the next two innings put them ahead 6-5, the final on a 79-degree partly cloudy Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark.

Eliezer Alfonso singled to start the sixth, and Gage Workman muscled a two-run shot to deep right field off Ronan Kopp to pull within one run in the sixth inning. Kopp had a scoreless inning streak of 10.1 innings, extending it to double-digits after a clean fifth inning.

In the seventh, Luke Gold advanced to first on a wild pitch third strike that set up Brady Allen. Allen aired out his 18th home run of his 2023 campaign, putting the Whitecaps up 6-5. Juan Morillo permitted just his fifth longball through 27 innings.

Great Lakes had two baserunners in the final three innings, Trevin Michael registered the final three outs and his fourth save of the season.

Justin Wrobleski became the first Loons pitcher to eclipse 100 innings this season, going three frames with one run allowed. The left-hander retired six of the first seven faced. The third inning saw three Whitecaps singles, the third by Brady Allen with two outs that tied the game at one.

The game’s first run came from the Loons in the top of the third. Jake Vogel singled, stole second base, and moved to third on a throwing error. Griffin Lockwood-Powell sliced a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield to score Vogel.

Lockwood-Powell kept Great Lakes alive in the fifth, roping a two-out single to center field. Dalton Rushing stepped up and left the yard on a 2-2 pitch, smashed into the parking lot beyond the right field fence. The Dodgers No. 1 prospect now has 15 home runs, matching his jersey number, and has totaled six in his last nine games.

The Loons grew their lead to 5-2 in the sixth with back-to-back doubles from Yunior Garcia and an RBI knock from Kenneth Betancourt. A Damon Keith sacrifice fly to right field plated Betancourt. 11 of the next 13 Great Lakes batters were retired.

West Michigan entered the night a half-game back of the first-place Fort Wayne TinCaps. Fort Wayne's game was in progress when the Loons game ended. The first place finisher in the standings faces Great Lakes beginning Tuesday, September 12th.

Game three of the series is tomorrow Thursday, September 7th. 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