Lugnuts Unable to Manage Loons' Mischief
August 24, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release
LANSING, Mich. - In front of a season high crowd of 10,824 on Harry Potter Night at Cooley Law School Stadium, the Great Lakes Loons (34-27, 77-51) rode a gem from Robinson Ortiz to an 8-1 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (31-30, 63-67) in the Saturday night opener of a four-game series.
It was the largest crowd in the Midwest League this year, the fourth largest crowd in post-renovation stadium history, and the largest non-July 4th crowd since 2013 in Lansing.
19-year-old Ortiz (Win, 3-5) struck out five in seven innings, holding the Lugnuts to four hits, one walk, and a second-inning Rafael Lantigua RBI groundout.
The Loons' offense took control of the game early, scoring four runs in the first innings off Lugnuts starter Fitz Stadler (Loss, 5-7) on five consecutive hits - the first of 11 hits and seven runs scored against Stadler in 4 2/3 innings.
Josh Hiatt pitched the next three innings, allowing three hits and one run, striking out three. Jose Espada finished with 1 1/3 perfect innings.
In the loss, Otto Lopez, the Midwest League's leading hitter, went 1-for-4 with his league-leading 132nd hit of the year, lowering his batting average to .320.
Nuts right-hander Troy Watson (3.44 ERA) starts the second game of the four-game series against Loons right-hander Ryan Pepiot (1.84 ERA) at 1:05 p.m. Sunday on a special Delta Dental Kids Day: Big Lug's Birthday! To live the Lug Life and purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com, call (517) 485-4500 or come to the Cooley Law School Stadium box office at 505 E. Michigan Ave. in downtown Lansing.
Midwest League Stories from August 24, 2019
- Favorable Firsts - Great Lakes Loons
- Five-Run Fifth Helps Bandits Open Series with 8-2 Win - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Chiefs Blow Another Save, Get Walked Off In Iowa - Peoria Chiefs
- Winning Streak Stopped at Four - Clinton LumberKings
- Beloit Spoils Return Home - Burlington Bees
- Dragons One-Hit Captains - Lake County Captains
- Lugnuts Unable to Manage Loons' Mischief - Lansing Lugnuts
- Hot Rods Drop 2-1 Nail-Biter to Cubs to Open Series - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Three Dragons Pitchers Combine for One-Hit Shutout in 3-0 Win - Dayton Dragons
- Cardiac Kernels Walk off against Chiefs - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- TinCaps Drop Series Opener at West Michigan - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Rattlers Beat Clinton 4-1 to Pick Up Ground in Playoff Chase - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Byron Buxton to Rehab with Kernels Starting Sunday - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday, August 24 - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Game Notes: August 24 at West Michigan (Game 129) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Lopez Lifts Lugnuts in 10th, 5-4 - Lansing Lugnuts
- Rattlers Complete Sweep of Bees with 8-2 Win - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Cubs Can't Complete Comeback and Drop Finale to Lugnuts 5-4 - South Bend Cubs
- Ex-Captain Cardenas Stuns Lake County - Lake County Captains
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.
