Haggerty homers in 6-3 loss to Loons

(Midland, MI) - The back-and-forth series between the Lake County Captains and the Great Lakes Loons shifted back in the Loons' direction on Saturday night. In a see-saw affair at Dow Diamond, Great Lakes came out on top, 6-3.

The Loons struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Ibandel Isabel led off with a home run and Darien Tubbs tacked on another run later in the frame with an RBI single that scored Logan Landon.

Lake County got those runs back on one swing in the top of the fourth. Martin Cervenka worked a walk and, with two outs, Sam Haggerty came to the plate. Haggerty, a switch-hitter batting right-hander, lifted a high fly ball that just stretched over the right field wall for a two-run home run, tying the game, 2-2.

Haggerty's home run set off a tug-of-war over the next couple of innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Loons regained the lead when Landon hit a similar home run to put Great Lakes ahead, 3-2. Landon skied a ball that landed on the grass just over the right field fence.

Once again, the Captains came back to tie the game in the top of the fifth. Ordomar Valdez bunted his way on base with a leadoff single and Jose Medina followed with a walk. After Willi Castro bunted the runners into scoring position, Jodd Carter knocked in Valdez with a ground out to tie the game, 3-3.

The Loons pushed back in the bottom of the fifth and took the lead for good. Omar Estevez and Eric Meza led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Meza's two-bagger scored Estevez to put the Loons in front, 4-3.

Lake County's bullpen worked out of several jams down the stretch to keep the game tight. After Meza's double, Christian Meister stifled a threat later in the inning. The right-hander entered with runners on second and third with two outs. Meister walked the first man he faced to load the bases, but then struck out Gage Green to end the inning. Meister then stranded a runner on second base in the sixth.

In the seventh, the Loons threatened again and a heated moment led to an early exit for Captains manager Tony Mansolino. Erick Algarin came in from the bullpen with two men on and one out to face Landon. The right-handed hitter dropped down a bunt and reached safely for a single to load the bases. Mansolino came out to argue that when Landon dropped his bat, the bat touched the baseball in fair territory, which would result in an out. After Mansolino did not succeed in getting the call reversed, the Captains' skipper was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Luis Hernandez. It was the second time Mansolino has been ejected this season and the first time since May 22.

Algarin responded right after the ejection and delivered a clutch performance on the mound. With the bags still full, Algarin struck out Green and Tubbs to end the inning without allowing the Loons to score. The Captains still trailed by only one.

In the eighth, however, the Loons tacked on a pair of insurance runs to put the game out of reach. A sacrifice fly by Brendon Davis and an RBI single by Zach McKinstry gave the Loons a 6-3 lead. In the ninth, lefty Luis De Paula nailed down his first save of the year. De Paula struck out the side in the ninth, giving him five straight strikeouts in two perfect innings to close the game.

Loons starter Leo Crawford earned the win. Crawford (1-1) picked up his first Midwest League victory, allowing three runs over five innings. The southpaw gave up three hits, walked three and struck out six.

Captains starter Shao-Ching Chiang was charged with the loss. Chiang (7-10) lasted 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits. He hit a batter, walked two and struck out three.

The Captains and Loons have gone back-and-forth in the first three games of the series, with Great Lakes taking two games. Lake County will try to split the four-game set when the two sides meet again on Sunday at 2:05 PM at Dow Diamond.    

Individual game tickets are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). 12-game mini ticket plans for the 2016 season are on sale now at great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.