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Loons Late Rally Falls Short

South Bend hangs on to win series
August 20, 2018

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Loons scored three runs in the eighth inning and placed the tying runner in scoring position in the ninth, but South Bend fended off the charge to clinch the series with a 4-3 win on Monday night at Four Winds Field.The loss slips the Loons


SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Loons scored three runs in the eighth inning and placed the tying runner in scoring position in the ninth, but South Bend fended off the charge to clinch the series with a 4-3 win on Monday night at Four Winds Field.
The loss slips the Loons behind the West Michigan Whitecaps by a half-game in the wild card race in the Midwest League Eastern Division.
 
South Bend's pitching kept the Loons off balance for a long stretch in the series. The three-run outburst snapped a stretch of 18 innings without a run. Right-hander Erling Moreno walked four batters, hit another and threw a wild pitch, but still muscled his way through six innings and earned the win.
The Loons pounced on reliever Ben Hecht in the eighth, loading the bases with nobody out. Hunter Feduccia walloped a fly ball off the wall in left field that scored two runs, and Chris Roller brought another run in on a sacrifice fly before South Bend brought closer Brian Glowicki out of the bullpen. 
Glowicki earned his 17th save of the season, second-most in the league, with a five-out performance. In the ninth, the Loons twice flew balls out to the warning track, but South Bend's outfield turned both into outs. Drew Avans was stranded on second to end the game when Luke Heyer grounded out to short.
 
Starter Andre Jackson abruptly left the game with an injury in a scoreless third inning, which forced left-hander Austin Hamilton into the game without any warmup time in the bullpen. Jackson would have lasted through the inning before his injury, but a two-out fielding error on third baseman Miguel Vargas scored a run and ominously extended the frame. 
After Hamilton entered, Delvin Zinn lined a ball the opposite way into right to score a run and put South Bend up 2-0. In the next at-bat, Hamilton slipped in the grass left of the mound as he attempted to field a swinging-bunt single by Rafael Narea; another run scored and South Bend went up 3-0. While all three runs in the inning landed on Jackson's line, none were earned.
The Loons return to Dow Diamond for a pivotal series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps that begins Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. EDT. Fort Wayne, a Padres' affiliate, leads the Loons by a game in the playoff standings.
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.