Bosnik's clutch, two-out single in 9th gives Loons 3-2 win over Dayton
MIDLAND -- The Great Lakes Loons rallied from behind Saturday night with third baseman Jesse Bosnik hitting the game-winning single to give the Loons their first walk-off victory of the season. The 3-2 win, enjoyed by 3,101 Loons fans in attendance, snapped the Dayton Dragons' six-game win streak and prevented the series sweep.
Down 2-1, a deep hit to the centerfield wall from Loons catcher Michael Pericht allowed Roman Pena to score the equalizer in the seventh inning. Then in the ninth, Pena reached base on a single and advanced to third on a two-out single from Chris Henderson. Next up for the Loons was Bosnik, who had gone 0-for-3 prior to his at-bat in the ninth. After a sighting from Rall E Camel on the video board, Bosnik knocked a fly ball to the warning track that split the outfielders to bring Pena home for the win.
Bosnik made it all the way to second base before his teammates enclosed him to celebrate the victory. The walk-off win was the first of his professional career and he was rewarded with a shaving cream pie to the face during his on-field interview, a running Loons tradition for game-winning at-bats.
“You know that’s every baseball player’s dream and that’s why you work so hard and put yourself in those situations to be able to succeed,” Bosnik said after the game, the collar of his jersey still coved with shaving cream. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. You’re up there, your adrenaline is pumping, you don’t want to let your teammates down, and to come through is the best feeling in the world. There’s nothing like it.”
The Loons put the initial run on the board in the second inning with an infield groundout that scored Pena from third, but the Dragons quickly mounted a lead of their own. In the fourth, Yorman Rodriguez doubled to score Donald Lutz, who hit a solo home run in the sixth to give Dayton the 2-1 lead. Meanwhile, Dayton’s pitchers were in the process of retiring 17 straight Loons hitters.
“We were struggling to put some hits together you know,” Bosnik said of Dayton starter Josh Smith. “He was commanding his fast ball on both sides of the plate, keeping us off balance and doing a good job, but we just kept knocking at the door and finally pushed through there.”
Pitching for the Loons was Red Patterson, who allowed Dayton’s only two runs on six hits through five innings of work. The righty fanned four and walked four. Picking up three innings of relief work was Pete Budkevics, who struck out the side in the eighth before closer Shawn Tolleson pitched the ninth to pick up his first win of the season.
The Loons racked up nine strikeouts in the win to add $40 to Deloitte’s running total, which will be donated by Deloitte to five local non-profits organizations at the end of the season as a part of Deloitte’s K’s for Kids program.
Notes: Christian Lara’s double in the first inning extended his hit-streak to seven games. Pena hit a triple to extend his extra-base hit-streak to three games. He has five hits in his last three games, four have went for extra bases.
The Loons hit the road for a nine-game trip that schedules the team to play the Lansing Lugnuts, Bowling Green Hot Rods and South Bend Silver Hawks. RHP Zach Lee (2-0, 1.29) will step to the hill against Lansing’s RHP Casey Lawrence (1-1, 3.46). All home and away games are broadcast live on ESPN 100.9-FM.
The Great Lakes Loons are a fifth-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.
