NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Great Lakes Loons

Berezay Slams Loons Past South Bend

August 30, 2007 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


Matt Berezay's fourth inning grand slam paced the Great Lakes Loons on Wednesday night as they beat the South Bend SilverHawks in front of 5,029 fans at Dow Diamond by a score of 7-5.

The Loons had never had a grand slam until a week ago today when infielder Francisco Lizarraga became the first Loon in franchise history to accomplish the feat in their 9-2 win over West Michigan on Aug. 22.

The SilverHawks jumped out to the lead in the third when second baseman Matt Oxendine sent a groundball up the middle to send home two runs and make it 2-0. The Loons answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a two-run double by Rick Taloa off the wall in right-field and a RBI-double off the bat of designated hitter Carlos Santana to give the Loons a 3-2 lead.

Again, the SilverHawks would answer back in the top of the fourth when they struck for three runs highlighted by a Joey Side two-run double to make it 5-3.

The score would change hands again in the fourth when a walk by Scott Van Slyke and singles by Trayvon Robinson and Preston Mattingly loaded the bases with Loons for left-fielder Matt Berezay. The California native came through with two outs belting a grand slam about half way up the lawn seating area in right field. It was the Loons' second grand slam in team history, and was Berezay's twelfth homer of the year. The Berezay blast put the Loons ahead 7-5, a lead they would never relinquish.

Paul Coleman started for the Loons and struggled to get through four innings allowing five runs on seven hits. Jonathan Figueroa (1-0) picked up his first win of the year going 3.2 shutout innings without allowing a hit. The southpaw allowed five walks in relief, four of which coming with two outs in the innings he pitched. Figueroa also tied a franchise-high by striking out seven SilverHawks. Thomas Melgarejo pitched 1.1 innings of work to pick up his third save of the season.

Mark Romanczuk (4-3) made one mistake too many in picking up his third loss of the season going only 3.1 innings and allowing six runs, four of which came on Berezay's grand slam. Evan Scribner allowed just one run in 3.2 innings out of the South Bend bullpen and Jason Urquidez pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the SilverHawks.

The Loons took each game of the series with South Bend, marking the first two-game winning streak at home for the ballclub since July 1-2 against Lansing.

The Loons travel to Comstock Park, Michigan for another two-game series, this time with the Detroit Tigers Midwest League affiliate, the West Michigan Whitecaps. Gametime is set for 7:00 PM ET. Brad Golder will call the action from Northern Grand Rapids on the radio flagship home of the loons, ThunderCountry 100.9 WYLZ.

The Loons wrap up their inaugural season this weekend with a three-game series against the Fort Wayne Wizards. Make sure you pick up your tickets for one of the final three Great Lakes Loons home games at Dow Diamond by calling (989)-837-BALL of by logging on to loons.com.

Check out the Great Lakes Loons Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...

Midwest League Stories from August 30, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central