Butterworth Walks Off Loons with Tenth Inning Single, Swan Throws Six Scoreless

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Great Lakes Loons (52-44) (18-13) held the Fort Wayne TinCaps (48-49) (17-15) off the board in the first six innings, but the TinCaps tallied four unanswered to win 4-3 on a 73-degree cloudy Wednesday night at Parkview Field. The game was delayed an hour and 15 minutes due to rain.

- Eriq Swan was stellar. The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, striking out five. The Dodgers No. 15 prospect had three 1-2-3 innings, including a seven-pitch sixth against 2-3-4 in the TinCaps lineup.

- A three-hit fifth put Great Lakes on the board. Elijah Hainline earned the first hit, doubling off the left-center field wall. With two outs, Kendall George singled him home on a ball into left field. He has 24 hits in July, tied for seventh in the month.

- In the seventh, the Loons scored two. Jake Gelof started the frame, taking TinCaps pitcher Bodi Rascon deep. A 437-footer with an 115 mph exit velocity made it 2-0. Eduardo Quintero singled with two outs and would come around on a wild pitch.

- Fort Wayne scored the final four runs. Nicolas Cruz's 9.1 scoreless inning streak in High-A was snapped. A walk, single, and sac bunt set up Oswaldo Linares in the seventh inning. The TinCaps catcher doubled up the left field line to pull within one.

- A Brandon Butterworth infield single started the eighth. Rosman Verdugo lifted an opposite-field single to plate Butterworth. A failed suicide squeeze attempt and a Cam Day strikeout kept it tied into the ninth.

- Fort Wayne’s Garrett Hawkins furthered the best scoreless inning streak in baseball to 34 innings with two clean frames. Day got a pickoff and his second strikeout in the ninth. In the tenth, with a placed runner on second, Butterworth singled on the first pitch.

Rounding Things Out

Both teams left nine on base and had 11 opportunities with runners in scoring position. The TinCaps converted three times, compared to the Loons two.

Up Next

Great Lakes and Fort Wayne play tomorrow, Thursday, July 31st. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m., an hour after the MLB Trade Deadline.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.