Thompson’s Leaping Catch, Gives Dayton 4-2 Win 

Midland, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (60-34) (15-15) loaded the bases in the ninth inning. With two outs, Damon Keith skied a ball 359 feet to left field which was caught by a leaping Justice Thompson at the wall. The Dayton Dragons (50-46) (17-13) held on for a 4-2 win on a 74-degree sunny Sunday at Dow Diamond.

Great Lakes got three walks, Max Hewitt and Frank Rodriguez the first two on. That removed Zach Maxwell from the game after two-scoreless. John Murphy entered for Dayton, and after a strikeout, he walked Taylor Young. Following a second strikeout, Maxwell faced Damon Keith. The eighth pitch of the at-bat was the left field fly hauled in by Thompson. The Loons left the tying run on second.

Justice Thompson was responsible for the fourth Dragons run, a solo home run launched 427 feet to deep left-center field in the eighth inning.

The scoring started in the first. Dayton’s Jay Allen II was hit by a pitch from Great Lakes starter Kendall Williams. An Edwin Arroyo single came next moving Allen to third. Williams struck out the next two, but an Austin Hendrick infield single up the third base line put the Dragons ahead 1-0.

Jack Rogers, with two outs in the second, made it 2-0 with a 405-foot homer to right field. Williams, the rest of his outing did not allow a run, finishing five innings with three strikeouts.

The Loons offense got two hits against Carson Rudd, the Dayton starter. Damon Keith had a first-inning single, and Jake Vogel a fifth-inning double. Rudd retired nine via the strikeout, a career-high.

In the sixth, Dayton dashed one across, to pad their lead to 3-0. A Cade Hunter RBI single plated Ruben Ibarra. Ibarra walked on four pitches from Lucas Wepf. The right-hander struck out four across two innings.

Great Lakes broke through in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back doubles. Alex Freeland doubled to right field, and Damon Keith doubled home Freeland lacing an 0-1 pitch to left field. A batter later, Griffin Lockwood-Powell pulled the Loons within one with a bloop single to center field. A double play ended the threat.

The Loons offense stranded 10 on base, six through the final three innings. Great Lakes finished July 12-12, their only month without a winning record.

After an off-day, Great Lakes begins a six-game series in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Tuesday, August 1st. Game one will be at 7:05 p.m. at Parkview Field.

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.