MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Continue Winning Ways with 9-2 Win over Fort Wayne

Published on April 23, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The way the Great Lakes Loons are playing these days, an early deficit is little more than a speed bump.

The Loons spotted visiting Fort Wayne two early runs Wednesday night at Dow Diamond but never flinched in a 9-2 win which was their ninth victory in 10 games. They're now 13-6 on the season and in first place in the Midwest League's Eastern Division.

"These guys are resilient," said Loons manager Bill Haselman. "They're not going to panic, especially early in the game, and we emphasize just taking things at-bat by at-bat."

The Loons rallied from an 8-3 hole to win Tuesday's game. One of the heroes of that win, second baseman Jesmuel Valentin, had four hits in Wednesday's win, as did backup catcher Webster Rivas.

And the Loons also stole four more bases, giving them 54 in 19 games and the most ever in a single month in franchise history.

Starting pitcher James Campbell overcame a shaky second inning and pitched five innings - with no earned runs - to earn his first win of the season. Victor Arano pitched four nearly flawless innings to pick up his first save.

"Campbell has a good arm and good stuff and we just had to emphasize to him that he needed to stop being tentative and just go after guys," said Haselman. "He has stuff to get these hitters out."

The TinCaps took advantage of two walks and an error to score two runs in the second inning. Number eight hitter Luis Tejada had the big hit, a two-run, two-out single.

But the Loons answered immediately.

Rivas led off the bottom of the second with a sharp single to left off of Fort Wayne starter Yimmi Brasoban. The TinCaps right-hander later issued a bases-loaded walk to Malcolm Holland which scored Rivas, then threw a wild pitch that brought home Alex Santana. Kyle Farmer then drove in two more runs with a single, giving him a team-high 18 RBI on the season.

The Loons took advantage of three TinCaps errors in the third inning to score three more runs, and added two more runs in the fourth as Valentin singled in one run while Justin Chigbogu drove in another with a ground ball to third.

Campbell retired the side in the fifth, then gave way to Arano, who gave up one hit over the final four innings while striking out three.

Thursday's series finale will feature Loons right-hander Luis Chirinos (2-1, 6.75 ERA) against TinCaps righty Pete Kelich (0-2, 6.28). Kelich has given up 16 hits in 14.1 innings pitched, but has also struck out 16 hitters.

Thursday is $1 Family Feast Night at Dow Diamond, presented by Chemical Bank. Fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, 16 oz. Pepsi products, ice cream sandwiches and Better Made Chips all night long.

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

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Midwest League Stories from April 23, 2014


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