MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Silver Hawks Win in Dueling Ninth Inning Rallies

Published on August 27, 2013 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


SOUTH BEND, IN - Monday night, the Great Lakes Loons mounted an epic ninth-inning comeback, only to see the South Bend Silver Hawks respond with the tying and winning runs in the home half of the inning for a wild 8-7 win. The loss snaps a five-game Loons `winning streak.

Combined with losses by Bowling Green and Dayton, the Loons remain 1 1/2 games behind the Hot Rods for the top spot and 2 1/2 games ahead of Dayton for the second and final playoff spot in the Eastern Division second half playoff race. With six games remaining in the season, the Loons' Magic Number stands at four (any combination of four Loons wins or Dragons losses secures the Loons a playoff berth). The Loons begin a three-game head-to-head home series with Dayton Wednesday, while Bowling Green travels to Fort Wayne for three.

The Loons trailed 6-2 entering the ninth inning before mounting an epic rally. Against erratic closer Enrique Burgos, Brandon Dixon led off with an infield single, followed by walks to Jose Capellan and Robbie Garvey. With one out, Aaron Miller singled home two runs. Burgos followed with a walk to Tyler Ogle to load the bases and bring Jimmie Sherfy in from the bullpen.

Sherfy (1-1) surrendered a two-run, game-tying single to Kevin Taylor with two outs. The next batter Leo Rodriguez hit a soft single up the middle to bring in the go-ahead run and give the Loons a 7-6 advantage.

But the Silver Hawks refused to lose. Against closer Owen Jones (3-4), Socrates Brito walked to leadoff the inning. He then scored on a double to left-center by Rudy Flores. After an infield hit by Mike Lang, the Loons intentionally walked Michael Perez.

Razor Shines went to the mound and brought James Baldwin in from center field to serve as a fifth infielder. With one out and all five infielders playing shallow, Breland Almadova singled to deep right field for the game-winning hit.

Garvey led off the game and scored the first run of the game on the second pitch of the contest with a drive to right-center field that was scored a triple and an error by Almadova. Fidel Pena countered with an outside-the-park home run to tie the score 1-1 in the third. The Loons reclaimed the lead with a fourth-inning single by Capellan.

But the Silver Hawks got the lead back on an RBI triple by Lang and an RBI groundout by Almadova in the sixth. The next inning, South Bend notched three more runs on a Pena sac fly and a two-run double by Lang.

Loons starter Zachary Bird - the reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week - allowed just one run on three hits over five innings. South Bend starter Rob Coe also pitched effectively, allowing two runs in six innings. Eight of the Loons' starting nine recorded at least one hit. Lang led South Bend with four hits, including a triple and two doubles. Flores recorded three hits.

The Loons (37-26 second half, 65-68 overall) have an off-day Tuesday before beginning an important three-game series against the Dayton Dragons (35-29, 63-70). Youthful lefty Julio Urias (2-0, 2.68 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Loons against righty Jackson Stephens (3-5, 3.88). The game features a Tiger Stadium replica giveaway, presented by MidMichigan Health (first 1,000 fans). Tickets are available at Loons.com or by calling 989-837-BALL. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 100.9-FM and ESPN1009.com

The Great Lakes Loons are a seventh-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For tickets and more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.

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Midwest League Stories from August 27, 2013


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