Loons Ambush Rattlers

MIDLAND, MI – The Great Lakes Loons scored five runs on three home runs in the bottom of the second inning and went on to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-4 on Thursday night at Dow Diamond.

Great Lakes (63-54) grabbed control of the game with their onslaught in the bottom of the second inning. Eddys Leonard doubled to start the frame and Carson Taylor followed with a two-run homer. Ryan January was next and he hit a solo homer. A one-out walk to Zac Ching was almost immediately followed by a two-run homer by Deacon Liput and the Loons had a 5-0 lead.

The Loons added to their lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Joe Vranesh hit an RBI double with two outs in the third and Jorbit Vivas knocked in a run with a single in the fourth.

Wisconsin (56-60) got on the scoreboard against Loons starting pitcher Jesús Vargas in the top of the fifth. Freddy Zamora started the inning with a single. LG Castillo followed with a double to left-center and Zamora scored. Vargas struck out the next two batters and got the final out on a flyout to left.

The Loons padded their lead with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Andy Pages doubled in the first run, scored the second run on a sacrifice fly by Vivas, and that put Great Lakes up 9-1.

The Rattlers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh on singles by Zamora and Castillo and a hit batsman. Consecutive strikeouts denied the Rattlers the opportunity to cut into the lead.

Castillo made the Loons a little nervous in the ninth inning when he cracked a three-run homer with no outs. Ashton McGee started the rally with a double and Zamora walked to reach base for the fourth time in the game. Castillo was next and he lined his ninth home run of the season to left.

Wisconsin put two runners on base with one out in the ninth and the heart of the order due to the bat. However, Andrew Shaps got a game-ending double play to finish any thoughts of a miracle comeback.

Zamora had two hits and two walks. Castillo went 3-for-4 and he drove in all four of Wisconsin’s runs in the game.

The loss ended Wisconsin’s three-game winning streak. The loss also ended Wisconsin’s hope for a winning season. The win kept Great Lakes alive in the hunt for the Wild Card playoff spot in the High-A Central League.

Game four of the series is Friday night at Dow Diamond. Justin Jarvis (1-7, 5.73) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Alec Gamboa (4-4, 4.14) is set to start for the Loons. Game time is 6:05pm CDT. The radio broadcast is on AM 1280, WNAM and on internet audio with the pregame show at 5:45pm. The game is also available on MiLB.tv.