MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Fall out of First Place After 2-0 Loss

July 25, 2013 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The Bowling Green Hot Rods (60-41, 22-11) scored two runs in the top of the first inning and that was all the offense they needed, as they knocked off the Great Lakes Loons (48-55, 21-12) by a score of 2-0 on Thursday night at Dow Diamond, breaking a tie atop the Midwest League Eastern Division.

Loons starting pitcher Miguel Sulbaran only threw one inning, but gave up the only runs of the ballgame. Just one of those runs was earned. Sulbaran gave up two hits and had one strikeout, while taking credit for the loss.

Bowling Green leadoff hitter Andrew Toles started the first inning with a double to right field. Second baseman Leonardo Reginatto, who was 2-for-5 in the game, followed Toles' double with a single to center field, scoring Toles for the first run of the game. Reginatto scored the second run, coming home because of a throwing error by Great Lakes shortstop Corey Seager.

Sulbaran was lifted after one frame for Jonathan Martinez, who pitched six innings of scoreless relief for the Loons. Martinez allowed five hits, while striking out four and walking one.

"I just tried to get ahead in the count and made sure I was aggressive against the hitters," Martinez said. "I wanted to locate my pitches well and I think I did that tonight."

"(Martinez) had six solid innings and then Ozoria had two solid innings," Loons manager Razor Shines said. "It was a well-played and well-pitched game throughout. When you pitch like we pitched tonight, most of the time you're going to win the ballgame."

Dylan Floro started for the Hot Rods and threw 6 2/3 strong innings, holding the Loons scoreless on six hits. The native of Merced, Calif., struck out four and walked two.

Great Lakes had two opportunities to tie the game in the middle innings, getting runners on first and second base with two outs in the sixth and seventh, but could not push any runs across in either situation.

Both teams struggled with runners in scoring positions. The Hot Rods left nine runners on base and the Loons left eight on base, but Great Lakes did not get a runner to third base in the game.

Marcus Jensen pitched the last 2 2/3 innings for Bowling Green to pick up his third save of the season.

Hot Rods three-hitter Thomas Coyle went 2-for-3 and drew a walk, reaching base three times in the game. Robbie Garvey and Corey Seager each had multi-hit games for the Loons. Garvey had two singles, while Seager had a single and a double.

"(Floro) spotted his pitches well and mixed up his stuff and kept hitters off balance in the box," Seager said. "Nobody was really comfortable up there at the plate. I was fortunate to be able to get two hits off him, including the double."

Arismendy Ozoria threw two innings of scoreless relief for Great Lakes and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to keep the Loons in the game. After allowing the first two hitters to reach base, Ozoria struck out Tyler Goeddel and intentionally walked Marty Gantt to load the bases. Ozoria struck out Joey Rickard and got Patrick Leonard to pop out to end the inning.

"I'm not disappointed at all," Shines said. "When my kids play hard like that, win or lose, I'm not disappointed. We got beat tonight, but I'm encouraged with the effort we put forward. They just pitched better than we pitched tonight, played a little bit better defense and unfortunately we lost the ballgame."

The Loons and the Hot Rods wrap up their three-game series on Friday night in Midland. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Brandon Martinez (1-0, 3.68 ERA) is expected to start for Great Lakes and Reinaldo Lopez (5-4, 2.30), a 6-foot-3, 221-pound righty, is slated to start for Bowling Green. Friday is Raining Money Night at Dow Diamond, as well as the Scout Night Sleepover. Great Lakes can tie the Hot Rods for first place in the Eastern Division with a win.

Check out the Great Lakes Loons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 25, 2013


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