MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Solo Shots Steal Show

Published on April 21, 2016 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - Brendon Davis did his damage in the 2nd inning. Brett Sullivan tripped around the bases in the top half of the 4th inning. Garrett Kennedy and Jordan Paroubeck went back to back in the bottom half of the frame. The Great Lakes Loons won the home run battle, and were also victorious overall 7-5 against the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Thursday at Dow Diamond.

"I think the guys were really ready to hit the fastball tonight as they got themselves into some good counts to hit," Loons manager Gil Velazquez said. "The timing was right for them."

Brendon Davis hit his first home run of the season to get the Loons on the board in the bottom of the 2nd inning. It was the California kid's second bomb as a professional, coming off Bowling Green starter Roel Ramirez (L, 1-1).

Before the raucous 4th inning ensued, two runs came across for Great Lakes in the 3rd inning when Cristian Gomez walked and Ariel Sandoval doubled to put two runners on base. Omar Estevez continued his consistent start to the 2016 campaign with a two-run single to put the Loons up 3-0.

After the Hot Rods got a run to begin the 4th inning when David Rodriguez drove in Michael Russell, Sullivan smacked a home run of his own. On the night, the Bowling Green catcher went 2-for-4 with three runs driven in, with his home run coming against Loons starter Isaac Anderson.

Anderson's (W, 1-0) night was done after six innings as he allowed four runs on six hits. In the winning effort, the right-hander walked one batter and had a strikeout.

Kennedy then led off the bottom half of the inning with a shot to right field, his first home run of the season.

"Well I was able to get a lot of fastballs early in the count and he had missed later with a changeup," Kennedy said. "So I figured I was going to get a good pitch to hit and he was able to put it up in the zone and I was able to put a good swing on it."

The encore portion of the back-to-back home runs off the bat of Paroubeck had the fastest exit speed of the season at Dow Diamond launching at 110 miles per hour.

"It definitely electrifies the dugout and gets everyone going," Kennedy said of the back-to-back home runs. "Hitting is contagious, so once that happens everybody gets life and hopefully it keeps on going after that."

As the game moved past its halfway point, Bowling Green scratched across a couple runs in the top of the 6th inning when Sullivan drove in his other two runs to cut the Loons lead to 5-4.

But that would be as close as the Hot Rods would get as Kennedy scored in the bottom of the 6th to push it back to a two-run lead, and both teams traded runs in the 8th inning.

Kevin Brown (H, 1) and Marcus Crescentini (SV, 2) perpetuated the successful stretch for the bullpen recently tossing the final three innings and striking out five batters.

Jake Cronenworth, a University of Michigan product and native of St. Clair, Mich., went 2-for-4 for the Hot Rods and scored a run. He's reached base in all 13 games played this year for Bowling Green.

The long weekend series at Dow Diamond will continue on Friday with the debut of the Loons 2016 Schedule Poster giveaway. The first 1,000 fans will receive a free poster courtesy of State Street Restaurant. Fans who can't make it to the ballpark on Friday will still be able to receive a poster throughout the weekend, while supplies last.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007 and are in their 10th season in 2016. For tickets and more information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.

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Midwest League Stories from April 21, 2016


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.

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