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Great Lakes Loons

Shutout Stops Shaky Stretch

May 2, 2016 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - After stumbling through a road trip in Wisconsin last week, it was a fresh start on Monday night in Midland as the Great Lakes Loons shut out the Quad Cities River Bandits 4-0 at Dow Diamond. The Loons snap a streak of six straight losses and recorded their first win of the season against the Midwest League Western Division.

The first, lengthy stretch away from home saw the Loons visit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Beloit Snappers, but return empty handed. In the Beloit series, a postponement on Saturday forced Great Lakes into playing a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, pushing the Loons arrival back home even later into the evening.

"We kind of went back to step one and tried to just start doing the little things right," Loons designated hitter Matt Jones said on ESPN 100.9-FM after the game. "We were lucky enough to find hits tonight because we're struggling to find hits and runs."

Jones drove in three of the four Loons runs on the night as he went 2-for-4, while Brendon Davis added a key single in the 7th inning that doubled the lead at the time for Great Lakes.

The scoring started in the 1st inning Gage Green got on base with a hit by pitch and Omar Estevez drew a walk to put two men on base. Jones was then able to lace a pitch down the third base line to score Green from second base.

Proceedings would remain quiet until the 7th inning when Davis, after missing a suicide squeeze bunt attempt earlier in the at-bat, would score Garrett Kennedy from second base with his base hit.

It was the 8th inning that pushed the lead even further when pinch-hitter and new roster addition Deivy Castillo singled to begin the inning and Green following suit. Estevez made it three consecutive base hits to load the bases, and Jones brought two around to score.

"When one guy does it and we get fired up; next guy does it, same thing," Jones said of the two-run 8th inning. "Hitting is definitely contagious, especially when we're struggling like we are."

On the mound in his fifth start of the season, Isaac Anderson (W, 2-0) stymied the River Bandits' offense as he did not allow a run on just four hits and struck out five batters. The right-hander joins Michael Boyle as the first pitchers to start five games for the Loons (8-14) this season.

Out of the bullpen, Marcus Crescentini (H, 1) and Philip Pfeifer (H, 1) combined to fill three innings only surrendering a single hit and finishing with four combined strikeouts. Alex Hermeling shut the door in the 9th with two strikeouts of his own to preserve the shutout.

It was not for a lack of a quality start for Quad Cities as Albert Abreu (L, 0-3) allowed just one run on one hit. He did walk three batters and had nine strikeouts.

The series with the River Bandits (10-14) will continue Tuesday as Dennis Santana (0-3, 2.13 ERA) will get the nod on the mound for the Loons. Jose Hernandez (0-1, 5.40) will start for Quad Cities.

With the calendar turning to May, start times at Dow Diamond are pushed back an hour. Pregame coverage on ESPN 100.9-FM will start at 6:35 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007 and are in their 10th season in 2016. For tickets and more information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.

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Midwest League Stories from May 2, 2016


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