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Loons Make It a Perfect Ten

June 20, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1) - Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, MI - In front of a Dow Diamond record crowd of 5.887 on a warm Saturday night, the Great Lakes Loons sent the throng home happy with a 6-4 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts. The win was the 10th consecutive for the Loons and pushed them to 40-29 with one game remaining in the first half of the season.

The Loons used some seventh-inning heroics from Anthony Hatch to ultimately put away the Lugnuts, who battled back from three runs down in the top of the inning. Justin McClanahan led off the seventh with a home run to left field off Ethan Martin, then Lansing took advantage of four walks, a wild pitch, an infield single and a sacrifice fly, all off Martin, to draw even at 4-4. With the bases loaded and one out in the inning, Martin was lifted for Luis Garcia, who got a strikeout and a groundout to escape the inning with the game still tied.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Loons made a winner of Garcia by taking the lead for good. Dee Gordon reached base on a fielder's choice and stole second base to get into scoring position with one out. After a fly ball out by Jaime Pedroza, Hatch stepped to the plate with two outs and stroked an RBI triple to deep right-center field, scoring Gordon with what proved to be the game-winning run. The Loons added an insurance run in the eighth for the 6-4 final score.

For the third night in a row, the Loons scored in their half of the first to take the early lead. Gordon extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a leadoff double and scored on an RBI blooper to left field off the bat of Pedroza.

The lead stood until the fourth, when Lansing scratched across a run off Loons starter Nathan Eovaldi to square the game at 1-1. Brian Van Kirk led off with a walk, moved to second on a walk and third on a wild pitch, and scored on a one-out sacrifice fly by Balbino Fuenmayor. The run snapped Eovaldi's scoreless innings streak at 20.2 innings.

Great Lakes came right back with three in its half of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. A two-run homer by Nick Buss and a solo shot two batters later by Alfredo Silverio scored the three runs. All four of the runs in the first four innings came off Lugnuts starter Jonas Cuotto, who worked five innings and did not factor in the decision.

Garcia (4-1) picked up the win, getting out of the seventh-inning jam and pitching to one batter in the eight before giving way to Javy Guerra. The Loons closer worked the final two innings for his 16th save of the year, striking out four and allowing only one hit.

Koch (2-5) suffered the loss for Lansing, giving up only one run and one hit in two innings of work.

The two teams wrap up their four-game series and the first half of the season tomorrow afternoon at 3:05 p.m. at Dow Diamond. Right-hander Justin Miller (3-2, 4.29) starts for the Loons against Lansing right-hander Henderson Alvarez (4-5, 3.88). The first 5,000 fans at the game receive a Kyle Russell poster, courtesy of F.P. Horak, and kids can run the bases after the game as part of Family Fun in the SUNday presented by Farm Bureau Insurance.

The Great Lakes Loons are the third-year Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and members of the Midwest League. For more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.


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Midwest League Stories from June 20, 2009


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