MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Pratt Powers Loons to 9-3 Win

Published on July 14, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, MI - The Great Lakes Loons (10-12, 44-48) powered past the Quad Cities River Bandits (12-10, 47-44) Saturday night at Dow Diamond, guided to the 9-3 win off of Pratt Maynard's grand slam in the third inning. Present to witness the Loons offensive surge was a sell-out crowd of 5,386 Loons fans.

Tied 3-3 in the third with one out, the Loons loaded the bases on a single from Scott Schebler, a drawn walk by O'Koyea Dickson and a mental lapse by Bandits pitcher Dail Villanueva, who fielded a come-backer cleanly but only thought about throwing to third. All three Loons advanced and set the stage for Maynard's 380-foot jack.

"Usually when guys are in scoring position with less than two outs, they're not just going to throw you a fastball," Maynard, who went 3-for-4 on the night, said. "Before the at-bat, [Tyler] Ogle told me [Villanueva] threw a lot of breaking stuff when he was up. So I was sitting on breaking stuff and he threw the first [curve] in for a strike. On the next pitch, he threw it again, and it was a little lower, and I was able to put a good swing on it and hit a home run."

The homer was Maynard's third of the season and the first grand slam at Dow Diamond since Pedro Guerrero's on May 25 against Bowling Green. The slam, plus a Darnell Sweeney RBI-double later in the inning, gave the Loons an 8-3 advantage that Quad Cities never overcame. Despite having nine hits, one less than the Loons, the R-Bandits were held to the three runs they scored in the first.

Other notable plays from the Loons came from James Baldwin in the second, who doubled in Maynard for a run, and then came in for the game-tying run when Casey Rasmus offered a throwing error after Baldwin stole third. Sweeney had three hits on the night.

Loons starter Duke von Schamann collected his second win of the season, limiting the Bandits to three runs on eight hits and one walk across six innings. He struck out three. Reliever Juan Noriega entered in the seventh and delivered two hitless innings, facing the minimum with a walk and double-play. Noriega's two scoreless extends his shutout streak to 12 innings, which began June 29.

The Great Lakes Loons will play game two of their three-game series Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Starting for the Loons will be RHP Gustavo Gomez (5-7, 5.59) against the Bandits RHP Willy Paulino (2-7, 4.91). Fans attending the game will receive a Loons poster featuring Rall E Camel and Ryan O'Sullivan presented by FP Horak. Following the game, kids will have the opportunity to run the bases at Dow Diamond courtesy of Farm Bureau Insurance.

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Midwest League Stories from July 14, 2012


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