Nuts notch 16 hits, fall victim to Loons' 7-run 7th
LANSING, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (4-4) scored seven runs in the seventh inning to double up the Lansing Lugnuts (3-5), 12-6, in a marathon three hours and 41 minutes on Saturday afternoon at Jackson® Field™. The game had 29 combined hits, 16 by Lansing; 17 walks, 11 issued
LANSING, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (4-4) scored seven runs in the seventh inning to double up the Lansing Lugnuts (3-5), 12-6, in a marathon three hours and 41 minutes on Saturday afternoon at Jackson® Field™.
The game had 29 combined hits, 16 by Lansing; 17 walks, 11 issued by the Lugnuts; 30 stranded base runners, 16 by the Nuts; and 421 combined pitches.
The game started well for the hosts. Rodney Green, Jr., playing on his 22nd birthday, led off the home first inning with his third home run, and the Nuts scored four runs in the first and added solo tallies in the fourth and fifth for a 6-3 lead.
Meanwhile, Steven Echavarria struck out five batters in 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (one earned), and Corey Avant and Blaze Pontes (pictured above) each tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings to bring the lead into the seventh.
But the Loons sent 13 batters to the plate against Garrett Irvin and Henry Gómez, tying the game on a Kole Myers RBI double off Irvin and taking the lead on a Nelson Quiroz two-run single off Gómez. Four batters later, Zyhir Hope added his own two-run single and the Loons were on their way.
Joe Vetrano capped the scoring in the ninth with a two-run double off Yehizon Sanchez.
In the losing effort, every Lugnut batter collected at least one base hit. Nick Schwartz went 3-for-5 with three singles; Sahid Valenzuela finished 2-for-3 with a single, double and two walks; Casey Yamauchi doubled and delivered a two-run single; T.J. Schofield-Sam went 2-for-4 with two RBI singles and an HBP; Cole Conn went 2-for-4 with two singles, an HBP and a walk; and Tommy White singled and drew three walks.
The Lugnuts’ offense leads the Midwest League in batting average (.265), walks (49) and on-base percentage (.392).
The series finale arrives with the first Capital City Market Kids Day of the year, featuring postgame Kids Run the Bases and an Extra Inning across Michigan Ave. with free ice cream and music at Capital City Market. Lansing right-hander Grant Judkins starts against Great Lakes right-hander Christian Romero at 1:05 p.m., with gates opening at 2 noon.
Tickets are available at the Jackson® Field™ box office, (517) 485-4500 or online at milb.com/lansing.
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