Loons Sink Captains, 4-2

Great Lakes wins fourth consecutive game

MIDLAND, MI – The Great Lakes Loons (28-34, 62-70) continued their winning ways Sunday at Dow Diamond before 3,609 fans by defeating the Lake County Captains (34-28, 65-66) by the score of 4-2 to make it four in a row.

The Loons jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning on four consecutive hits. First baseman O’Koyea Dickson knocked a double off the left-field wall to score Jesus Arredondo, who singled to get on base. A balk from Captains pitcher Danny Jimenez scored Joe Winker and moved Dickson to third. Nick Akins finished off the rally with an RBI-single.

Catcher Tyler Ogle added to the Loons total in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field, which grazed the Michigan flag before landing outside the park.

“I had swung at the first pitch (and missed) in my first at-bat [against Jimenez], so I figured I’d get a little better at timing in the next one,” Ogle said of his approach. “So I took the first pitch and I said ‘If he throws that same speed, I could probably hit that.’ And that’s what he did, he threw it middle-in and I got a good piece of it.”

The home run was Ogle’s first at Dow Diamond and second of the season. Since the catcher returned to the Loons on August 18, he has hit in all five games, for a batting average of .421 in that span.

Picking up the win from the mound was Loons starter Duke von Schamann, who fanned seven Captains in five innings of work, and limited them to one run on four hits. The win was his fourth of the season. Reliever Amalio Diaz allowed Lake County’s final run after loading the bases in the seventh inning. Danny Coulombe and Daniel Carela each recorded a strikeout as they combined to close out the final 2.1 innings. Carela notched the save.

The Great Lakes Loons will play game three with the Lake County Captains, the Midwest League affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Monday at Dow Diamond. The Loons send RHP Arismendy Ozoria (8-8, 4.51) to the hill against Lake County’s RHP Mason Radeke (7-6, 3.62). The first 5,000 fans to the game will receive a special Dow Diamond poster courtesy of F.P. Horak. Following the game will be a Fireworks Loontacular powered by Dow Corning.