Silver Hawks earn 4-0 win at Dow Diamond
MIDLAND -- The Great Lakes Loons mustered only three hits in Friday night's contest against the South Bend Silver Hawks, who picked up their first shutout victory by beating the Loons, 4-0 in front of a sell-out Dow Diamond crowd of 5,490.
The Silver Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when shortstop Zach Walters took a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall for a two-out home run, his fifth of the year. The team extended their lead by one run in the fourth inning on a Ramon Castillo sacrifice fly to centerfield. With one out in the seventh inning and the bases loaded, Walters grounded into what looked like a possible double-play, but in a try for the final out, Loons shortstop Casio Grider threw the ball past first base, allowing the S-Hawks two more runs.
Shutting down the Loons in the effort was South Bend starter Bradin Hagens, who tossed a season-high eight strikeouts and limited Great Lakes to only two hits through seven scoreless innings. Hagens picked up his third win of the season and improved his ERA to 3.92. Dan Taylor and Chris Odegaard each pitched one inning of relief for South Bend. The S-Hawks finished with 12 strikeouts.
“South Bend got a good starting performance from Hagens,” Loons manager John Shoemaker said after the game. “We just didn’t put enough pressure on South Bend today and we didn’t get enough runners on base. It was a great job by their pitching staff.”
The Loons received two walks from Hagens to begin the fourth inning, but were unable to convert on their scoring chances, leaving seven Loons on base. Leon Landry, Blake Dean and Jesse Bosnik were the only Loons finding hits on the night; Bosnik and Dean netted doubles.
Starter Garrett Gould entered the game among the league leaders with a 1.50 ERA and a 4-0, but allowed two runs on four hits through five innings Friday for his first loss of the year. Though he had more walks than strikeouts, 3-to-2, Gould’s ERA still sits relatively low at 1.76.
Making his Loons debut was left-handed reliever Michael Drowne, who threw two innings to allow two runs, one unearned. Drowne fanned three and walked one, before Raul Burgos came in to pitch the game’s final two scoreless innings, in which he fanned three.
The Loons will continue their three-game series with the Silver Hawks on Saturday and will send RHP Red Patterson (4-2, 2.93) to the mound against South Bend’s RHP J.R. Bradley (1-6, 5.54). Prior to Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. game, the Loons will host a pregame youth soccer clinic. In addition, special Dodgers Route of Champions posters will be given away to fans attending the game, presented by F.P. Horak.
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.
