Chiefs Can't Catch Loons, Drop Series
Published on May 2, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
MIDLAND, MI - The Chiefs fell in an early hole and could never catch up to Great Lakes' bats on Saturday night, falling 9-5 at Dow Diamond. With the defeat, the Loons clinch the series win over Peoria.
Great Lakes opened up a 2-0 first inning lead by virtue of a two-RBI single from Eduardo Guerrero. The runs were the Loons' eighth and ninth first inning runs this week.
After being set down in order in the first two frames, Miguel Villarroel broke that cadence for the Chiefs and socked an opposite-field, solo homer to trim the deficit to 2-1.
Loons starter Christian Zazueta quickly settled back into a rhythm, retiring the next 11 Chiefs batters.
In the meantime, Great Lakes built up its lead, rallying for three runs to chase Chiefs hurler Nate Dohm after 2.2 innings, pushing the lead to 5-1.
In the sixth, Chuck Davalan's RBI single pushed it to 6-1 Loons.
In the seventh, with Zazueta still on the mound, Peoria got the wheels turning, loading the bases to push the righty out of the game. Sammy Hernandez worked a bases loaded walk, making it 6-2. However, the Chiefs left the bases loaded.
Mike Sirota got that run back in the bottom of the inning, plus one, by lining a two-run inside the park home run to center field, which snuck by Ian Petrutz on a dive attempt. Sirota's fourth homer of the week made it an 8-2 deficit.
The Chiefs rallied for three runs in the eighth inning on a run-scoring error and RBI singles from Jalin Flores and Won-Bin Cho, bringing the Chiefs within three.
Great Lakes got a run of cushion back via a sacrifice fly from Cameron Decker, and the Chiefs proceeded to go 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Peoria, now 11-14, will aim to salvage the series finale on Sunday with first pitch set for 1:05 ET, 12:05 CT. The Chiefs return to Dozer Park on Tuesday for an 11:05 am series opener with Wisconsin. Tickets are available at PeoriaChiefs.com.
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