MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Great Lakes Loons Fall to Quad Cities 6-4

April 11, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - If nothing else Friday, the Great Lakes Loons showed that they won't go down without a fight.

Trailing 6-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning against Quad Cities at Dow Diamond, the Loons put together five straight hits and scored three runs, firing up the crowd while putting the visiting River Bandits on their heels.

But with the bases-loaded and one out, Quad Cities reliever Andrew Walter escaped by getting the Loons Joey Curletta to bounce into a double play. Curletta came into the game as the second-leading hitter in the Midwest League.

"We were a base hit away from tying the game," said Loons manager Bill Haselman. "I really never thought we'd get in that position, but there's absolutely no quit in this team."

The loss was the third in a row for the Loons, who fell to 4-4 on the season. And for the third straight game, they struggled offensively as Bandits pitchers Adrian Houser and Gonzalo Sanudo held them in check through seven innings. Reliever Chris Cotton pitched a scoreless eighth for Quad Cities, but didn't get an out in the ninth before Walter was brought in to put out a fire that was beginning to blaze.

Alex Santana led off the Loons ninth with a single. Jesmuel Valentin followed with a double, scoring Santana, and Dillon Moyer then singled. Leadoff hitter Malcolm Holland then scored Valentin with a perfect bunt single down the third base line. When Jacob Scuvazzo singled, the Loons trailed by only two runs.

Walter then came on and retired Kyle Farmer on a fly to left, but a walk to Paul Hoenecke loaded the bases. That brought up Curletta, who came into the game batting .423 and on a 7 for 12 tear in his last three games. But his ground ball to shortstop Jack Mayfield was turned into a game-ending double play.

Mayfield was trouble for the Loons all night. He had three hits, including a long home run to left off of Loons starter James Campbell in the fifth, and was a triple away from the cycle when he lined out to short in the eighth.

The Bandits scored a run off of Campbell in the first, two more in the fourth and a single run on Mayfield's homer in the fifth. Campbell (0-1) pitched five innings and gave up eight hits and three earned runs. James Baune came on in relief in the sixth and surrendered eight hits while giving up two runs. Jacob Rhame pitched a scoreless ninth.

"(Campbell) wasn't bad; he hung a breaking ball that (Mayfield) hit out of the park," said Haselman. "He knows he's got to get that pitch down. He also walked a couple of guys and they're a team that's going to walk a lot, so we've got to stay ahead in the count."

The Loons scored a run in the third inning when Holland tripled to right centerfield and then came home on a wild pitch by Houser.

The teams will resume their series Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. game at Dow Diamond. Right-hander Luis Chirinos (1-0, 7.20) will be the starting pitcher for the Loons, while the Bandits will counter with righty Andrew Thurman, the Houston Astros' 2nd round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. Baseball America ranks Thurman as the No. 15 prospect in the Astros' farm system.

The three-game series concludes Sunday with a 3:05 p.m. game. Greg Harris, the Loons winning pitcher in Tuesday's home opener at Dow Diamond, will face Quad Cities left-hander Kent Emanuel, the Astros' 23rd best prospect according to Baseball America.

The Great Lakes Loons are an eighth-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For tickets and more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.

Check out the Great Lakes Loons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from April 11, 2014


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