Great Lakes captures series with 7-2 win
BELOIT, WI -- Friday night, the Great Lakes Loons broke a 1-1 tie with six runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Beloit Snappers 7-2 in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The Loons are now 34-14 on the road and have won 12 of 15 road series.
Rubby de la Rosa (4-1) did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and surrendered just two through seven innings to earn the win. The hard-throwing right-hander walked two and struck out six.
Christian Lara gave the Loons a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the third. Beloit tied the game on an RBI single by Lance Ray in the bottom of the fifth inning, his first professional hit and the first hit surrendered by de la Rosa.
With the game tied 1-1, the Loons sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six times just before the seventh inning stretch. With one out, reliever Peter Kennelly walked Lara. The next batter, Rafael Ynoa, sent a deep drive to right for his fifth home run of the year to give the Loons a 3-1 lead.
Ynoa had hit just one home run in his first four professional seasons.
Lefty Chris Armstrong provided little relief for manager Nelson Prada. He surrendered a walk and a single to left-handed hitters Angelo Songco and Blake Smith. After a wild pitch advanced them to second and third, Brian Cavazos-Galvez singled sharply off the glove of shortstop James Beresford, who was drawn in to cut down the run at the plate. Armstrong then walked Brian Ruggiano to load the bases and walked Jaime Ortiz to force home Smith. The next batter, Gorman Erickson, drove home two more with a double off the wall in center field.
Cavazos-Galvez went 4-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest streak this season by a Loons player.
Lara finished the game with three walks and two runs scored.
The Loons are 60-30 overall, the top record in full-season professional baseball and have won 17 of their first 21 second half games.
The Loons continue their nine-game road trip Saturday with the first game of a three-game series in Appleton, WI against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Right-hander Elisaul Pimentel (8-3, 2.91 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Loons. Kyle Heckathorn (6-5, 2.65), a right-hander, is slated to start for Wisconsin. Game time is 7:35pm ET.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN 100.9-FM and online at Loons.com.
The Great Lakes Loons are a fourth-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and members of the Midwest League. For more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.
