Loons Fall to Silver Hawks, 2-1

MIDLAND, Mich. - The South Bend Silver Hawks (47-27, 3-2) picked up two early runs and withstood a late rally to knock off the Great Lakes Loons (30-45, 3-2) in a low-scoring affair, 2-1, on Monday night at Dow Diamond.

South Bend jumped on starter Zachary Bird (1-3) in the top of the first inning, with the first five hitters in the Silver Hawks lineup getting singles. Leadoff hitter Andrew Velazquez and two-hitter Fidel Pena scored South Bend's runs in the first, which ended up being their only runs of the game. Bird got out of the jam by striking out Silver Hawks six-hitter Ronnie Freeman, getting Alex Glenn to hit into a fielder's choice where Bird threw home for the second out of the inning and striking out Carter Bell.

"You know what, you have an 18-year-old kid and the bases loaded with nobody out, and he gets out of that pretty good," Loons manager Razor Shines said. "He gave up two runs, but for four innings, he was pretty good. He pitched five innings and gave up two runs. I'll take that every time."

Bird settled down after the first inning, allowing three hits and no runs over the next four innings. He gave up two runs, both earned, on eight hits over five total innings. Bird struck out six and walked one.

"They came out looking for a fastball and wanted to jump on the fastball early, and for some reason, I kept on giving it to them," Bird said. "I just had to mix up my pitches a little bit and work my way back to the fastball and get them between pitches. I mean, these are professional hitters and they know how to hit a fastball."

Silver Hawks starting pitcher Jesse Darrah (7-4) stole the show, throwing a masterful seven innings, holding the Loons scoreless and allowing just one hit. Darrah struck out five and walked four. Only two Great Lakes runners got into scoring position in the first eight innings and no Loon reached third base until the ninth inning.

"Darrah was pretty darn good," Shines said. "He moved the ball around; he threw his changeup for strikes and kept us off balance. Hitting is all about timing, and he did a good pretty good job of disrupting ours tonight."

The Loons bullpen was excellent. Arismendy Ozoria and Scott Griggs each pitched two scoreless innings. Both allowed just one hit and no walks. Ozoria struck out three and Griggs struck out four.

Great Lakes' biggest threat came in the ninth inning. Leadoff hitter Robbie Garvey, who was 1-for-2, along with two walks, reached on his second walk of the game. Garvey stole second base and advanced to third on a Leo Rodriguez groundout before scoring on a Tyler Ogle single.

"(Darrah) came at us with a lot of off-speed tonight," Garvey said. "We weren't really getting deep into counts and we were swinging at a lot of first pitches. I knew I was going to see that off-speed because he was trying to keep us off balance. So I just tried to work the counts and get as deep into at-bats as I could and it worked to my favor."

James Baldwin came off the bench to pinch run for Ogle, while Corey Seager, who had three home runs in the previous three games, stepped to the plate. Unfortunately, Loons fans did not get the late-game fireworks they were expecting, as Seager grounded into a double play to end the ballgame.

South Bend reliever Jose Jose threw a scoreless eighth inning and Enrique Burgos closed the game in the ninth to pick up his fifth save of the season.

The Loons wrap up their six-game homestand and their three-game series with South Bend on Tuesday. Chris Anderson (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who the Dodgers selected with the No. 18 pick of the 2013 MLB Draft, is expected to make his professional debut, as is Tom Windle, who the Dodgers took with the No. 56 pick of the 2013 draft. Windle will relieve Anderson in a "piggyback" start. Luis DeJesus (2-7, 6.32) is the projected starter for the Silver Hawks. It is a Dodgers Route of Champions Night and 4-H Night at Dow Diamond. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

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.