Wagner wills Loons to 4-2 win over Lugnuts

LANSING, Mich. – Logan Wagner hit a solo home run in the third, stole home in the seventh and hit an RBI single in the ninth to help the Great Lakes Loons (17-8, 53-36) to a 4-2 win over the Lansing Lugnuts (8-17, 37-52) on Wednesday night at JacksonⓇ Field™.

The win is the Loons’ 10th over the Lugnuts this season through 14 meetings.

Wagner’s third inning, two-out shot to right field off starter Samuel Dutton gave the Loons an early 1-0 lead. The home run was Wagner’s 15th of the season and second in as many days; on Tuesday, he hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

“I got him pretty good with changeups the last at-bat,” Dutton said. “Really wasn't expecting him to swing first pitch there. Wanted to really get ahead and attack him. It was just a heater that was middle up and he just put a good swing on it.”

“I think slowing him down is you probably pitch him backwards and just kind of get away from the middle a little bit because he's very hot in the middle, on the heart of the plate,” manager Javier Godard said.

In the fourth, Jake Reinisch hit a leadoff double to deep center field off Great Lakes starter Isaac Ayon that nearly went over the wall.

“I wanted to be on time for a fastball, but I also kind of figured he was gonna throw something, one of his secondary pitches, and he threw me a slider and I was able to jump on it,” Reinisch said.

Two batters later, Pedro Pineda hit a double of his own, a shot that bounced off the left-field wall and plated Reinisch to tie the game at 1-1.

But the top of the seventh proved to be the difference-maker. With two outs and runners at the corners, Emil Morales drove home Eduardo Quintero with an RBI single through the gap into left field off Jose Dicochea and advanced Wagner to third base. During Jose Meza’s following at-bat, Morales stole second and Wagner stole home to give Great Lakes a 3-1 lead.

A Gunner Gouldsmith RBI double scored Carlos Pacheco in the bottom of the seventh, but Wagner struck again in the top of the ninth, this time with an RBI single to left field to give the Loons a 4-2 advantage.

The Lugnuts nearly rallied in the bottom of the ninth; C.J. Pittaro hit a single to center field before advancing to second on a Bryan Arendt ground out and to third on a Dilan Figueredo wild pitch. Pacheco followed with a walk, bringing the winning run to the plate, but Gouldsmith grounded out to Morales at shortstop to wrap up the loss.

The Loons would have scored another run if not for a play from Pineda in right field in the second inning; with Eduardo Guerrero at second base, Samuel Munoz sent a line drive to right. With Guerrero coming around the bases, Pineda grabbed the ball and fired it to Arendt at the plate who had plenty of time to apply the tag.

“As soon as I saw the ball, I was like, ‘Yeah, I'm getting the guy thrown out at the plate,’ so I was just ready for it,” Pineda said.

Dutton's outing lasted 4 ⅔ innings; the former Auburn Tiger allowed five hits, one run – the Wagner home run – and one walk with two strikeouts.

Abel Mercedes pitched 1 ⅓ innings of scoreless relief before giving way to Dicochea. Dicochea allowed four hits, three runs and a walk before Griffin Kirn finished the game.

On offense, seven different Lugnuts recorded a hit. Reinisch, Pineda and Gouldsmith each had a double, and Pineda and Gouldsmith had the two RBIs.

Jorge Marcheco is set to make his second start of the season on Thursday against Great Lakes lefty Zach Root. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for a Lugnuts Gone Country Night, with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free straw hat, and a Coors Light Thirsty Thursday. It’s also Western Michigan University Night, with a special ticket package available that includes a WMU bucket hat. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05. For tickets and more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit www.milb.com/lansing.

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