MWL1 Lansing Lugnuts

Wizards drop Lugnuts in opener

Published on April 3, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release


Fort Wayne, IN - The Lansing Lugnuts opened the 2008 Midwest League campaign by dropping a 7-1 decision to the Fort Wayne Wizards at Memorial Stadium Thursday night. It is the first Opening Day loss for the Lugnuts since a 15-4 home defeat in 2001.

The Wizards started the scoring in the first inning when Angel Mercado blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall to make it a 2-0 game. Mercado's home run was the first one hit in the league this year.

Fort Wayne added another run in the third before bursting out for four runs in the fifth frame against reliever Chi-Hung Cheng to put the game away. The big inning started when Luis Durango was able bunt his way aboard for the Wizards. After moving to second base on a wild pitch, Durango would come home to score on a Lance Zawadzki single to make it 4-0. Yefri Carvajal followed suit with an RBI single of his own to push the lead to 5-0. Justin Baum then drilled an RBI double into the left-center field gap that plated Carvajal to make it a 6-0 game. Brad Chalk's run scoring single topped off the frame at 7-0.

The offense was more than enough for the Wizards' pitching staff, as Jeremy Hefner and Allan Harrington combined to shut down the Lugnuts. Hefner (1-0) tossed five innings of three hit baseball while fanning five to pick up the win, while Harrington threw four innings and allowed just one run for the save.

Lansing's only offensive highlight came in the eighth inning, when Darin Mastroianni singled home Justin Jackson for the club's lone run. They were the only two Lugnuts to finish the game with multiple hits.

Starting pitcher Trystan Magnuson (0-1) suffered the loss for the Lugnuts after allowing three runs, two of which were earned, in just 1 2/3 innings of work.

Lansing (0-1) and Fort Wayne (1-0) will play the second game of the four-game set on Friday night beginning at 6:00 p.m. Kyle Ginley is expected to take the hill for the Lugnuts, while Jeremy McBryde will hurl for the Wizards.

Check out the Lansing Lugnuts Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from April 3, 2008


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.

OurSports Central