MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Down Captains on Wild Night at Dow Diamond

Published on May 31, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - On a noisy night filled with fireworks - literally and figuratively - Paul Hoenecke's bat spoke the loudest Saturday at Dow Diamond.

Hoenecke broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning with his team-leading sixth home run and the Loons went on to post a 6-5 win over Lake County before 5,467 fans. The evening featured a variety of wild plays, and included a near-brawl when both benches emptied in the fourth inning, before being topped off with a Fireworks Loontacular postgame show.

But it was Hoenecke, along with Loons reliever Jacob Rhame, who wrote the definitive ending.

Hoenecke's homer leading off the eighth came off hard-throwing Lake County reliever Ben Heller. Rhame, who throws even harder, struck out three batters in the ninth to close out the win.

"I've been scuffling of late so I really wasn't trying to do anything but get on base," said Hoenecke. "But I got into a 2-1 count and he threw a fastball middle in, and I was able to turn on it.

"I'm really not trying to do anything different. I'm just trying to have the same swing every time."

Rhame struck out Richard Stock leading off the ninth, gave up a single to Ivan Castillo, then struck out Clint Frazier - last year's Gatorade High School baseball player of the year who signed a $3.5 million bonus with the Cleveland Indians - on a nasty breaking ball. Frazier had three sharp singles in his previous four at bats.

Rhame then finished off the Captains by fanning Claudio Bautista, who hit a long home run in the first inning off of Loons starter Greg Harris.

"(Rhame) has been doing a lot of that lately," said Loons manager Bill Haselman. "He's going out there with a very aggressive approach and he's having a lot of success."

Both benches emptied in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Loons Jesmuel Valentin was hit by a pitch from Captains' starter Robbie Aviles. Valentin and Aviles jawed at each other briefly as both teams came onto the field. Order was restored before the argument became physical, however.

"(Valentin) got hit and he didn't like it," Haselman said. "I don't mind that. Sometimes it's good to show a little fire."

The Loons showed plenty of fire after falling behind instantly 2-0 on Bautista's home run after Frazier led off the game with a single to center. The Loons answered with four runs in the bottom of the first, beginning with a double steal in which Valentin stole home. Another run scored on an error, and then Josmar Cordero tripled into the rightfield corner on a ball Lake County's Torsten Boss nearly made a spectacular play on.

Cordero scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. The Captains cut the lead by one on a balk by Harris, but the Loons added another run in the fourth inning on a two-out double by Spencer Navin.

Harris gave up four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work, but he struck out nine while walking none. Michael Johnson pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief before giving way to Victor Arano, who gave up a game-tying single by Frazier in the seventh inning. Arano (3-2) got credit for the win, while Rhame picked up his third save.

Heller (3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the season for the Captains.

With the win, the Loons are 27-29 with 14 games left in the first half of the Midwest League's season. The Loons came into the day trailing Eastern Division leader South Bend by 8 1/2 games and second place West Michigan by five. The top two finishers in each half qualify for the postseason.

The Loons and Captains play again Sunday afternoon (3:05 p.m.). Jordan Hershiser, son of former Dodger great Orel Hershiser, will make his first start for the Loons while the Captains will counter with Dace Kime (0-7). The game preceded by a Youth Baseball Clinic, while kids will get to run the bases after the game for free, courtesy of Farm Bureau Insurance.

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Midwest League Stories from May 31, 2014


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