MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Walk-Off with 5-4 Win

Published on April 13, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, MI - Tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, first baseman Joe Winker knocked a single down the first-base line to score the winning run from third and secure the Loons third win of the season.

Second baseman Jesus Arredondo got the inning going with a one-out single to centerfield. An out later, Winker stepped into the batter's box. On Colin Rea's 2-0 pitch Arredondo stole second, but as the TinCaps shortstop was applying the tag, the ball came lose to trickle into shallow left field and allow Arredondo to advance to third. The sequence set-up Winker for the game winner, which was three pitches away.

In the previous inning, the Loons were down 3-2 and Winker drew a two-out walk to help spark a late rally. Loons right fielder Scott Schebler hit a triple to bring in Winker, who was already on the move, and tie the game at 3-3.

"Honestly I was stealing on the pitch," Winker said of the play. "So once [Winker] hit the ball, I just kept running. I was going first to third and the ball just got by the centerfielder and Shoe sent me home."

Two walks from Robert Eisenbach, who entered to face Winker, loaded the bases for Justin Boudreaux who came through with an infield single that put the Loons up 4-3. Fort Wayne answered the run in the top of the ninth with a game-tying triple from Travis Whitmore, but that wouldn't be enough.

The Loons bullpen entered the game on a 13.1-inning shutout streak and helped keep the Loons in it late. Relievers Juan Noriega, Eric Eadington and Yimi Garcia combined for eight strikeouts across five innings. Noriega and Eadington tossed two scoreless frames, while Garcia allowed an unearned run in the ninth. The bullpen remains on a streak of 18.1 innings without surrendering an earned run. Garcia was charged with a blown save but did pick up the win, while Fort Wayne's Rea received the loss.

Arredondo went three-for-five on the night to improve his season average to .462. The Mexico-native also had an impressive 4-2 fielder's choice put-out at the plate to keep the game tied 4-4 in the top of the ninth.

The Loons will play game three of the four-game series with the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. RHP Gustavo Gomez (0-1, 22.50) will make the start for the Loons, while RHP Matt Wisler (0-1, 9.00) gets the nod for the TinCaps. The first 5,000 fans to Dow Diamond will receive free 5th Anniversary All-Time Team posters, presented by F.P. Horak.

The Great Lakes Loons are a sixth-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and are in the middle of their 5th Anniversary Celebration, which kicked off in August 2011 and will continue throughout the 2012 season. For more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.

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Midwest League Stories from April 13, 2012


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