MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Fall in 13 Innings to Whitecaps

Published on August 17, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The comeback was memorable. The finish, however, created none of the same memories.

The Great Lakes Loons staged one of their best rallies of the season Sunday to send their game with the West Michigan Whitecaps into extra innings before a sellout crowd at Dow Diamond. But the Whitecaps scored two runs in the top of the 13th inning to pull out a 7-5 win.

The loss cost the Loons a chance to gain ground in the Midwest League Eastern Division second half playoff race as they prepare to embark on a crucial nine-game road trip. Dayton, which is directly ahead of the Loons in the postseason race, also lost Sunday - but remained a game ahead of Great Lakes in the race for the second playoff spot.

Lake County, which is first in the playoff race, won Sunday to move 2 1/2 games ahead of the Loons and 1 1/2 ahead of Dayton. The Loons have three games remaining with both teams.

"It's a tough loss but I'm really proud of the way our guys came back," said Loons manager Bill Haselman. "They did a great job battling back. They showed me something today."

The Loons roster, which has been in flux all week, changed again prior to Sunday's game. Jesmuel Valentin, the team's everyday second baseman and one of its top offensive threats, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies organization as part of the deal that sent Phillies pitcher Roberto Hernandez to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's tough sometimes with guys coming and going but that's baseball," said Haselman. "That's how the business is sometimes. But we've got a group of guys who have a chance to show what they can do."

West Michigan had a seemingly comfortable 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Loons weren't finished.

Malcolm Holland led off the inning with a walk against Whitecaps reliever Julio Felix, and Jose Capellan followed with a single, his third hit of the game. Devan Ahart, who just joined the Loons on Friday, doubled home Holland with a ball hit on one bounce to the wall in right.

Leo Rodriguez, who just joined the team Sunday, had a run-scoring ground out, as did the next batter, Brandon Trinkwon. Joey Curletta then doubled high off of the wall in left to put the tying run on base. And then it was Paul Hoenecke's turn, and he became an unlikely hero in the improbable rally.

Hoenecke lofted a ball to centerfield which appeared to be the final out, but Whitecaps centerfielder Ross Kivett lost the ball in the sun and it bounced just behind him as Curletta came home with the tying run.

As it turned out, however, Hoenecke would be the last Loons batter to reach base as the next 13 batters were retired in order by Felix and fellow reliever Nate Fury.

The Whitecaps finally broke the ice in the 13th inning off of Loons reliever Jordan Hershiser. Domingo Leyba led off with single, was bunted to second by Kivett. Pinch hitter Raph Ryhmes was intentionally walked, but a wild pitch moved both runners up. Arivcent Perez, who was hitless to that point, then doubled down the line to score both runners.

Fury, who struck out four of the six batters he faced, retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to pick up his first win of the season. Hershiser, now 1-2, was charged with the loss.

"Hersh has come through for us all season," said Haselman. "He just had an off-day today. But he's been great for us."

Ahart and Capellan each finished with three hits for Loons, while Trinkwon and Curletta had two apiece. Leyba finished with four hits for West Michigan.

The Loons will start left-hander Luis De Paula (1-2, 6.94 ERA) Monday night in Fort Wayne for the first game of a three-game series. They'll then be travel to Bowling Green for a three-game series which begins Thursday, then conclude the road trip with three games in Dayton starting Sunday.

The final regular season home series at Dow Diamond begins on Wednesday, Aug. 27, when Lake County comes to town for a three-game series. The Loons finish the regular season on the road against West Michigan Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

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

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Midwest League Stories from August 17, 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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