Roller Walks Off, Loons Win

MIDLAND, Mich. - Last Sunday, Great Lakes Loons outfielder Chris Roller hit a walk-off to beat the Lake County Captains. This time around, against the Dayton Dragons, he did it again. 
Roller stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered a shot over the shortstop's head to drive in Drew Avans and give the Loons a 1-0 victory on Sunday at Dow Diamond. 
The win, in front of 3,567 fans, gave the Loons a 22-27 record in the second half, keeping the team 0.5 games back of a Midwest League playoff position. The Dragons have dropped to the bottom of the Midwest League Eastern Division with a 20-29 record, 2.5 games back of the postseason. 
Gerardo Carrillo set the tone for the Loons as their starting pitcher. He fired 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks with two strikeouts. The 19-year-old has now thrown in two outings which he did not allow a run. The other came on July 20 against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. 
On the opposing side, Dragons starter Packy Naughton kept up with Carrillo. He struck out seven hitters, issuing three hits and one walk, in 5.0 innings. His bullpen help, Miguel Aguilar and Ryan Nutof, were stellar until John Ghyzel (L, 2-5) gave up the walk-off single to Roller in the bottom of the ninth.
The Loons bullpen consisted of Mark Washington and Austin Drury (W, 2-0). The two put three base runners on in 3.0 total innings. Drury's top of the ninth was perfect to set the tone for the Great Lakes win. 
Great Lakes was 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on-base in the win. Romer Cuadrado, after hitting a grand slam on Saturday, went 3-for-4. He was pulled from the game for pinch-runner Avans, who scored the winning run. Third baseman Miguel Vargas was the only other player who had a multi-hit effort on Sunday.
The Loons and Dragons return to Dow Diamond on Monday for game three of the four-game series.
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.