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Great Lakes Loons

Home Runs Boost Offense Again

May 30, 2016 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


Bowling Green, Kentucky - The Loons hit three solo home runs, including one inside-the-park home run, and rallied from twice down to win 3-2 over the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Sunday night at Bowling Green Ballpark.

The Loons (22-26) have won three-of-four and increased their home run count to 12 in the last six games. With score deadlocked at three in the eighth, left-handed hitter Edwin Rios blasted his third home run of the series 426 feet and over the scoreboard in right field. The solo shot off right-hander Reece Karalus (L, 0-3) gave the Loons their first lead of the game.

Right-hander Brian Bass (S, 4) entered in the ninth and needed six pitches to seal the win for the Loons. Righty David Rodriguez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

Bowling Green broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when lefty Brett Sullivan, the Midwest League leader in RBI, cracked a leadoff home run off Loons right-handed starter Imani Abdullah. Through three starts at the Class-A level, the 19-year-old has allowed five long balls, but on Sunday night, Abdullah limited the damage to one run on two hits through five innings with no walks and three strikeouts.

The start of the Loons' sixth inning mirrored that of the Bowling Green fifth. Leadoff man Gage Green, also a lefty, took Hot Rods starter Jose Mujica, also a righty, deep to right for Green's second home run of the season. Mujica allowed one hit through five innings and although the Loons recorded three hits off the Venezuelan in the sixth, the score remained tied at 1-1.

Right-hander Adam Bray pitched the bottom of the sixth for Great Lakes and allowed a go-ahead run when Angel Moreno scored from third on a wild pitch. Moreno reached on a leadoff single to start the frame.

Again, the Loons responded with haste. One out into the top of the seventh, righty Logan Landon ripped a ball on a line to the pull side. Left fielder Angel Perez raced to the track and leapt to catch the ball, but crashed into the banner scoreboard that lines the left-field wall at Bowling Green Ballpark. Perez did not hang onto the line drive and lay injured on the track, unable to throw the ball to the infield as Landon raced around the diamond and scored. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Loon since Kyle Garlick on July 5, 2015 at West Michigan.

Right-handed reliever Gavin Pittore (W, 1-1) took home his first win of the season. Pitching in the seventh with a man on third, Pittore threw a pitch in the dirt that skidded to the edge of the hitter's circle. Sullivan, the runner, tried to score on the play, but Loons' catcher Brant Whiting flipped to Pittore, who covered home and applied the tag on Sullivan to keep the game tied at two.

The Loons can secure a winning road trip with a victory on Memorial Day. Coverage starts at 12:35 p.m. EDT on ESPN 100.9-FM with first pitch at 1:05.

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 30, 2016


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