MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Earn Doubleheader Split with Walk-Off Win at Dow Diamond

Published on April 13, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. Kyle Farmer's hunch paid huge dividends Sunday for the Great Lakes Loons.

Farmer got the curveball he was looking for from Quad Cities reliever Patrick Christensen, and lined it into leftfield for a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Loons salvaged the second game of a doubleheader with a 5-4 win. The visiting Bandits won the first game at Dow Diamond, 11-0.

Farmer's hit came on an 0-2 pitch from the side-arming Christensen and scored Malcolm Holland from third base. Holland led off the inning with a walk and took third when Jacob Scavuzzo's ground ball snuck through the infield past Quad Cities third baseman Austin Elkins.

"He threw me a curveball earlier in the count and I knew he was going to come back with another one," said Farmer, the Loons catcher. "I didn't hit the ball as hard as I wanted, but it was hard enough to get into left field."

The win halted a four-game losing streak for the Loons, who won their home opener at Dow Diamond but then not again until Sunday's second game. They're now 5-5 on the season.

"You never want to say you need a win this early in the season, but sometimes you kind of do need one when you're struggling a little bit," Haselman said. "It just wasn't there for us in the first game, but we showed a lot more energy in the second game."

The Loons and Bandits were forced to play a doubleheader Sunday after inclement weather postponed Saturday night's game. The two games were scheduled for seven innings - per Midwest League doubleheader rules - so the second game qualified as an extra-inning win for the Loons.

After dominating Sunday's opener, Quad Cities built a 3-1 lead in the second game but a clutch two-out single by Joey Curletta in the bottom of the third inning tied the score.

The Loons took the lead in the fifth inning when Scavuzzo scored from third after a third strike to Paul Hoenecke got past Bandits catcher Jobduan Morales.

Quad Cities tied it in the sixth on a leadoff double by Tyler White, who came home when Conrad Gregor, the next batter, singled.

The sixth was the last inning for Loons starter Greg Harris, who was effective despite allowing four earned runs. Harris struck out five batters and walked none.

"I thought Harris did a great job," Haselman said. "His stuff was nasty. He's still just a 19-year-old kid, but he's shown me a lot so far."

Harris was followed by left-handed reliever Michael Johnson, who pitched two scoreless innings - with two K's - before allowing a leadoff single in the ninth to Gregor. He was replaced by Jacob Rhame, who promptly picked off pinch runner James Ramsay. Rhame then retired the next two batters, setting up the Loons dramatic ninth-inning rally.

Scavuzzo finished with three hits for the Loons, while Farmer, Curletta and Jesmuel Valentine each had two.

Little went the Loons way in the opener. Starting pitcher Luis Chirinos (1-1) had three 1-2-3 innings, but gave up seven runs and seven hits in two others. The Bandits scored three runs in the second inning thanks, in part, to an errant pickoff throw by Chirinos, then scored four more in the fifth.

Quad Cities scored four more runs off of reliever Francisco Villa, including three in the seventh on five consecutive hits. Tanner Mathis, Jon Kemmer and Chan Jong-Moon, the Bandits 7-8-9 hitters, went a combined 7 for 11.

Meanwhile, Bandits' starter Andrew Thurman - a former No. 2 pick of the Astros, pitched five strong innings. Featuring a fastball that touched 96 mph on the stadium radar gun, Thurman scattered four hits while striking out five batters and walking none.

The Loons now head to Wisconsin, where they'll begin a three-game series Monday night in Beloit. They'll then play a three-game set with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, before returning home to face Fort Wayne on Monday, April 21. Game time at Dow Diamond is 6:05 p.m.

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 13, 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.

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