Great Lakes Thumps Dragons, 10-2

DAYTON, OH. – In response to being shut out Friday night, the Great Lakes Loons (17-18) tallied a season-high 16 hits for their first nine-inning victory against the Dayton Dragons (20-15) at Day Air Ballpark, 10-2. Andrew Shaps, who entered Saturday’s game as a pinch hitter for Joe Vranesh, plated five runs on his second double and first triple of the season. The Saturday win ended a four-game losing skid to the Dragons, with the series finale on deck for Sunday.

The bottom three hitters for Great Lakes combined to score seven of the ten runs Saturday night, with five from Shaps and two from Deacon Liput. Coincidentally, every Loon on the lineup card recorded a hit except for an 0-for-5 night for Miguel Vargas, the High-A Central’s leader in total bases and hits. Andy Pages doubled twice to score two runs, and is now tied for the most extra-base hits in the HAC with 19. Great Lakes played their 16th errorless game of the season, increasing their record to 12-4 when doing so.

Offensively, Great Lakes hitters were a season-high 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven runners aboard. Loons pitchers limited Dayton to a slim 1-for7 in the same department, leaving three men aboard. The Loons recorded 16 hits, also a season-high, to the Dragons’ five. With the Loons leading 2-0, Quincy McAfee’s double in the bottom of the third plated two runs to force a tie into the fourth inning. Great Lakes ended the game scoring eight unanswered runs to ensure the win.

Loons starter Logan Boyer recorded his sixth scoreless inning of the year, striking out two batters. Dodgers second-round draft pick in 2020 Landon Knack (W, 1-0) relieved Boyer for the next three innings, allowing two runs on two hits, walking two and striking out five batters. Austin Drury and Zack Plunkett combined for the next four innings out of the GL bullpen, allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Jack Little struck out two batters in the final inning of Saturday’s contest, securing the first nine-inning win for the Loons against Dayton this season.

The Loons tagged Dayton’s right-handed starter Spencer Stockton (L, 2-2) for six runs on seven hits, all earned, with two strikeouts. Stockton initially faced Great Lakes on May 8, allowing no earned runs in 4 1/3 innings for his only relief appearance of the season. Pedro Garcia held the Loons scoreless through the fifth inning, allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Following a scoreless frame for Miguel Medrano, the Loons scored four runs on five hits, batting through the order for the second time of the game. Twice on Saturday night, the Loons scored four runs in an inning to win their first game of the series in Dayton.

Great Lakes and Dayton end their second series with a Sunday finale scheduled for 2:05 P.M. EDT at Day Air Ballpark. The Loons look forward to another six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts at Jackson Field following Sunday’s finale, a rematch of the two in-state rivals from the end of May, when Great Lakes took four of six. The Loons return to Midland on Tuesday, June 22, when the Lake County Captains make their final pass through Dow Diamond of the season with a six-game set.

Right-hander Jesus Vargas is scheduled to make his second appearance of the series against the Dragons on Sunday, first pitch scheduled for 2:05 P.M. EDT against the Dragons. Sunday’s start will be the first for Vargas since the end of May when he received his second win of the year, allowing one run on four hits in Lansing. The righty Vargas will be opposed by Dayton’s Lyon Richardson, who allowed seven runs on five hits to the Loons on June 8.

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.