Loons Shutout in Game One 5-0 Loss

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Great Lakes Loons (76-55) were blanked by the Fort Wayne TinCaps (69-63) 5-0, stranding 12 runners on base in game one of the Midwest League Eastern Division Championship Series on a 70-degree partly cloudy Tuesday at Parkview Field.

The Loons offense left seven runners on base through the first four innings. In the first inning, Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Alex Freeland walked to put two on with two outs, TinCaps starter Henry Baez put down the next batter on three pitches. The next chance came in the third with two walks and a Fort Wayne error. With the bases loaded, Baez once again earned a punchout.

The fourth inning saw Great Lakes first two hits, a single from Kenneth Betancourt and Jake Vogel. A popup finished the frame.

Loons starter Justin Wrobleski retired the first nine battershe faced, striking out five. The left-hander needed just 37 pitches through the first three. The TinCaps leadoff hitter Tyler Robertson doubled up the left field line to begin the fourth inning. Nerwilian Cedeno, with one out, sliced a ball into right field, an RBI double to open the scoring.

Wrobleski spun a seven-pitch fifth inning, getting a sixth. The inning began with a leadoff double from Tyler Robertson thrusted 396 feet to left field. The Dodgers No. 20 prospect according to MLB.com, forced a flyout to finish his day, leaving a runner on first. Jack Dreyer entered and after gaining a strikeout, walked Lucas Dunn on seven pitches, and Carlos Luis singled on a 0-2 pitch.

The second run went on Wrobleski’s mark, who went 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts but was charged with the loss.

Great Lakes stranded five baserunners in the final five innings. A Dalton Rushing walk and Griffin Lockwood-Powell single started the top of the fifth. Fort Wayne put in Ethan Routzahn, who collected three outs working around a walk to Chris Alleyne that loaded the bases. In the sixth inning, Jake Vogel roped his second hit a double, but was left at second after 1-2 in the lineup were set down.

19-year-old Sammy Zavala gave the TinCaps a cushion slamming a three-run home run in the seventh inning to make it 5-0. Cole Paplham recorded the final three outs striking out the side in the ninth inning.

The Loons are now in a win-or-go-home situation with game two in the best-of-three series on Thursday, September 14th at Dow Diamond. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and will see a Loons Rally Towel giveaway presented by MyMichigan Health and a Pre-Game Tailgate Party starting at 5:30 p.m. brought to you by Z93 The Rock Station.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-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 ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.