Young’s Single Walks-Off Fort Wayne in Return From All-Star Break

Midland, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (55-26) had just one run and six hits through the first eight innings. A two-run four-hit bottom of the ninth gave the Loons a 3-2 comeback win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (43-39) on a 78-degree partly cloudy Friday night at Dow Diamond.

The exclamation point was a Taylor Young single with the bases loaded and two outs. The final four Loons batters all reached, and all were the potential final out.

Down 2-1, Damon Keith singled to kickstart the bottom of the ninth. Fort Wayne’s Will Geerdes quickly recorded two outs forcing a flyout and strikeout. Chris Newell was the final hope in a matchup between two former teammates at the University of Virginia. He roped a single up the left-field line to put runners on the corners.

Chris Alleyne swung at the first pitch he saw and jabbed it over the outstretched glove of shortstop Kervin Pichardo, to tie up the game. With runners on first and second, Jake Vogel walked on four pitches to create the bases-loaded chance for Young.

Both of Fort Wayne’s runs came off the bat of Jakob Marsee. The 22-year-old went yard with a solo home run in the third. It was Ronan Kopp’s lone run permitted. The Dodgers No. 18 prospect permitted three baserunners over three innings.

The Tincaps plated their second run in the fifth. Marsee singled home Joshua Mears who reached on a one-out double. Jerming Rosario retired five via punchout across four innings and left five on base.

Juan Morillo worked around two walks striking out the side in the top of the eighth and keeping the deficit at one. The right-hander struck out back-to-back batters with the bases loaded. His second strikeout was a called third strike on a payoff pitch facing Anthony Vilar. Jack Dreyer needed just 14 pitches, striking out two in a clean ninth.

The Loons have won 55 games through 81 played. 18 wins have been decided by one run, nearly one of every three wins this season.

Great Lakes and Fort Wayne play the middle game of a three-game series tomorrow Saturday, July 15th. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. Saturday is Princess & Pirate Night presented By Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and a Fireworks Loontacular brought to you by Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan.

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.