MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Pitre's Big Day Leads Loons to Victory

Published on May 27, 2018 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - Gersel Pitre tallied his first three-hit game of the season, and delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, to put the Loons up 4-3 as part of a 7-3 win over the Lake County Captains on a splendidly sunny Sunday afternoon at Classic Park.

Pitre's decisive base hit came on a 2-2 pitch with two outs and Jared Walker on third base. Walker had reached second to lead off the inning on a throwing error by third baseman Tyler Friis, who committed three errors in the game for Lake County. After back-to-back fly-ball outs, Walker remained on second but advanced to third on a wild pitch from Cameron Mingo during Pitre's at-bat.

The 21-year-old international free agent signee from Venezuela also scored two runs in the game. It is the second three-hit performance of his Loons' career and first since June 17, 2017 at Bowling Green.

The Loons scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth to salt the game away. Moises Perez led off the ninth with an opposite-field home run to right, the first of his Loons' career through 83 games. With two outs in the inning, Carlos Rincon tripled off the wall in right to score a pair and give the Loons a 7-3 advantage. Rincon also doubled for his first multi-hit game since May 7 at Beloit.

Before the Loons' five-run surge over the final three innings, the game was tightly contested. The Loons' bats managed three hits through the first six innings against lefty Francisco Perez, but Zach McKinstry homered in the top of the first inning to give the Loons a 1-0 lead. McKinstry is 7-for-16 in his four games back from the Disabled List.

Ulysses Cantu homered for the second time in the series against Great Lakes to tie the game in the bottom of the second. The score remained 1-1 until the top of the fifth when the Loons loaded the bases with none out and scored a run on a 4-6-3 double play.

Lake County grabbed its first lead of the afternoon thanks to a two-run sixth against righty Max Gamboa. After a lead-off double by Oscar Gonzalez, Gamboa fielded a comebacker off the bat of Jonathan Laureano and saw he had Gonzalez in a rundown between second and third. The Loons' pitcher sailed his throw to third over Jared Walker's head to advance runners to second and third with no one out.

The Loons nearly managed an escape act in the inning, but Miguel Eladio lined the ball through the hole at short to put Lake County ahead 3-2.

A swift retort from the bats tied the game at three a half-inning later. Brayan Morales' line drive to left scored Pitre for the second time in the game and set the stage for Pitre's pivotal at-bat in the following inning.

Lake County mustered little offense against right-hander Connor Strain, who took home the first win of his professional career. The ninth-round pick needed nine batters to pick up the final nine outs of the game.

The Loons have won back-to-back games for the first time since May 14-15. Now, the Loons try for their first three-game win streak of the season on Memorial Day at 1 p.m. from Classic Park.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.

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Midwest League Stories from May 27, 2018


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