Series Ends in Sweep of South Bend
August 10, 2018 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - It took 10 innings and nearly four hours on Friday night at Four Winds Field, but the Loons swept the South Bend Cubs with a 6-3 win to creep within two games of the wild card playoff spot in the Midwest League Eastern Division.
Twenty-three games remain in the regular season. It's the second victorious sweep for the Loons, who also took three straight from the Burlington Bees July 15-16.
Friday's win may have been the strangest of the year. Brock Carpenter, an infielder and third catcher, earned the winning decision for pitching two shutout innings with no hits, no walks and one strikeout on an 87-mph fastball. Carpenter pitched the ninth and 10th innings for the Loons; he stranded a runner on third base in extras. The right-hander from Tacoma, Washington has totaled three innings for the Loons this season and has yet to allow a run.
Carpenter's eventual appearance on the mound was prompted by ineffective starting pitching for the Loons over the duration of the series. A Loons' starter did not complete four innings in the set, and no available arms remained in the bullpen by the time the ninth inning arrived on Friday.
The Loons set a franchise record with 10 steals in the game; they were led by Chris Roller's three steals. Great Lakes stole 10 bags successfully before Devin Mann was thrown out at second in extra innings.
After establishing a 3-0 lead in the second innings, the Loons came up empty with runners in scoring position until the 10th inning. The offense received 21 at-bats with runners in scoring position and converted on four of those chances while stranding 14 runners.
The Loons finally snapped the 3-3 tie in the top of the 10th on a wild pitch by Luis Aquino and subsequent missed-catch error on backstop Miguel Amaya, which scored two runs and gave the Loons a 5-3 lead. Mann drove in another run on an RBI single to scratch across the third run of the frame.
While not perfect, the Loons defense rose to the occasion in two instances, in particular, twice ending an inning by throwing out a South Bend runner on the bases. One of the runners, Rafael Narea, was caught in a rundown between third and home on the play in which South Bend tied the game in the seventh inning.
A seven-game home stand beckons for the Loons with first pitch on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. E.D.T. against the Dayton Dragons.
The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.
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