Loons-Captains Split Doubleheader, Magic Number Drops to One

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (73-54) (37-26) and Lake County Captains (69-57) (32-30) each earned a win in a five-hour doubleheader on a partly cloudy 75-degree Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park.

Game One – Loons 9, Captains 0 –7 innings

- Eduardo Quintero hit a grand slam, his third of the season. The 20-year-old came up with two outs after Jose Meza and Victor Rodrigues walked and Anson Aroz was hit by a pitch. Quintero barreled a Jackson Humphries slider and sent it over the left field bleachers. The grand slam is the tenth for the Loons this season, increasing their franchise record.

- Great Lakes starter Sterling Patick tossed five scoreless innings. The 21-year-old struck out six and permitted one hit and only three baserunners.

- Eduardo Guerrero provided two runs with RBI groundouts in the second inning and fifth inning. Jaron Elkins supplied a two-run single in the four-run fifth. Nico Perez had a bases loaded walk, his third straight game with an RBI.

- Joseilyn Gonzalez and Dilan Figueredo each tossed a scoreless inning to secure a shutout win.

Game Two – Captains 5, Loons 4 – 9 innings

- Lake County starter Will McCausland struck out six, his first time through the order. Chuck Davalan and Eduardo Quintero had back-to-back hits second time facing the right-hander. Davalan doubled to right field and Quintero slapped a ball the other way to put the Loons on the board. Both hits came with two strikes and two outs.

- Great Lakes starter Brooks Auger stranded three on in the first two innings. The Captains’ Tommy Hawke started the bottom of the third with a line drive single to right field. Lake County’s Dauri Fernandez rifled an RBI triple up the right field line. Anthony Martinez put the Captains up 2-1 with a sacrifice fly.

- Gio Cueto hit his fourth home run in his 21st game as a Loon. A game-tying shot was throttled to left-center, a two-out longball, the second run off McCausland.

-The next three innings saw neither side push a run across. The Loons defense earned two double plays. A deflected ball off Cody Morse’s foot went to Eduardo Guerrero who doubled up a runner off first base. Morse threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Davis Chastain retired the four he faced. He left the game with an apparent arm injury.

- In the top of the ninth, Great Lakes plated two runs. Jaron Elkins walked and Eduardo Guerrero ripped an RBI single to right field. Later in the frame, a Donovan Zsak balk made it 4-2.

- The Captains hit back-to-back doubles to score three runs. Nicolas Cruz walked Cannon Peebles and allowed an opposite field double to Jose Pirela. With two in scoring position, Juan Benjamin blasted a two-run double to the fence in right field.

Rounding Things Out

West Michigan lost to Dayton 8-1. The Loons have a 2.5 game lead over the Whitecaps. Great Lakes has three games remaining this season, their magic number is one.

Up Next

Great Lakes and Lake County face off tomorrow Saturday, September 5th. The first pitch is at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Great Lakes Loons have been 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 Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.