Loons Hand Dragons Late Night Loss

DAYTON, Ohio - A rubber match between the Great Lakes Loons and Dayton Dragons was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Friday evening, but a rain delay pushed the start time back to 9:49 and after a 3 hour and 3 minute game, the Loons defeated the Dragons 13-1 at 12:52 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

For the third consecutive night the Loons set a season-high for hits in a game. On Friday night it was 18 knocks that did in the Dragons to secure the Loons their first road series win since June 10-12.

The game was punctuated by a six run 9th inning in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Great Lakes took advantage of working against a position player on the mound for the first time since August 29, 2015 at South Bend. 

Josciel Veras, who began the night as the Dayton designated hitter, was the Loons victim. Veras allowed seven baserunners to reach while only recording one out before getting the hook from the game. Brendon Davis had the exclamation with a three-run home run to left field.

Luke Raley began the scoring for Great Lakes in the 1st inning with an RBI-single scoring Saige Jenco. Then in the 3rd inning the Loons tacked two more runs on thanks to run scoring hits by Davis and Omar Estevez to give the Loons a 3-0 lead.

The Loons batted around twice in the ballgame and the first time came in the 6th inning. With one out, six straight Loons reached base safely and Great Lakes was granted three more runs on and RBI-single by Gage Green and a run scoring two-bagger by Darien Tubbs. Later in the inning, Raley picked up his second RBI-single of the night to thrust the Loons lead to seven.

In the midst of all this scoring for the visitors, Loons right-handed piggyback starter Dennis Santana (W, 3-8) was dealing in the middle innings. Santana tossed five innings out of the bullpen conceding just two hits and striking out six. Dodgers 2016 2nd-rounder Mitchell White started the game and went an expected two innings in typical form. White allowed one hit and walked one while collecting three punch outs.

Dayton starter Jose Lopez (L, 6-9) was roughed up in 5 1/3 innings. The Loons tallied six runs on nine hits against the righty.

Great Lakes is back home starting on Saturday night to begin a seven game homestand. The South Bend Cubs are first in town and the start time on Star Wars Night at Dow Diamond is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT. Radio coverage of Loons baseball dawns at 6:35.

The Great Lakes Loons, hosts of the 2017 Midwest League All-Star Game, have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007 and are in their 10th season. For tickets and more information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.