Lansing's Lost Inning Leads Loons to Win

LANSING, Mich. - The Lansing Lugnuts committed three errors in the eighth inning, and the Loons scored four runs to snap a 2-2 tie and win 6-2 on a pleasant Saturday evening at Cooley Law School Stadium.
The Loons (16-19; 52-52) batted around in the inning in spite of one base hit. Lansing right-hander Connor Eller (L, 1-3) hit Loons catcher Connor Wong with a pitch, and walked Nick Yarnall to put two on with one out. The next batter, left-hander Zach Reks pulled a ground ball to Lansing first-baseman Nash Knight, who lost control of the baseball as he turned towards second. The error loaded the bases and brought Brandon Montgomery to the plate for the Loons.
On the first pitch from Eller, Montgomery lined the ball into left field to score two runs and make the score 4-2. Lansing (13-22; 50-51) committed two more errors before the inning ended.
Eller himself committed a gaffe on a comebacker off the bat of Saige Jenco. Eller attempted to throw to second to force out Montgomery, but sailed the ball into center field, which allowed Reks to score. 
Later in the inning, the Loons loaded the bases when Gavin Lux drew a walk. Right-hander Carlos Rincon then grounded a ball sharply to Lansing shortstop Yeltsin Gudino, who initially had to knock the ball down off his chest and then pulled Knight off first base with a high throw. Montgomery scored the Loons fourth run of the inning to make the score 6-2. 
The inning swung the momentum abruptly in the Loons favor after Lansing rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch by right-handed reliever Andre Scrubb (BS, W, 4-0). Scrubb allowed one hit and one run over a season-high 3.1 innings and retired his final eight batters in a row. 
Offensively, the Loons received three hits from Nick Yarnall, his first three-hit performance in the Midwest League. The Dodgers 35th-round draft choice in 2016 included a run, a double and an RBI on his line. 
Dodgers first round draft choice Jeren Kendall, selected 23rd overall from Vanderbilt, registered his first Loons hit, a triple in the first at-bat of the ballgame. Kendall later scored in the inning on an RBI single by Cristian Santana off Lansing righty starter Kyle Weatherly.
Loons' right-hander Jordan Sheffield, another Vanderbilt product, made his third straight start with two runs or fewer allowed. Sheffield pitched 5.2 innings and allowed three hits, one run and three walks with four strikeouts. 
Game two in the Loons road series with the Lugnuts begins Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Pregame coverage starts at 1:35 on ESPN 100.9-FM.
The Great Lakes Loons are the 2016 Midwest League Champions and have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2007. Dow Diamond, home of the Loons, also houses ESPN 100.9-FM and the Michigan Baseball Foundation. For tickets and more information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.