Three-Run Eighth Completes Loons Comeback, 8-7 Win over Chiefs

MIDLAND, Mich. – The series opener between the Great Lakes Loons (33-31) and Peoria Chiefs (26-38) saw four lead changes with a Loons three-run bottom of the eighth, the final lead change, a comeback completed in an 8-7 win on an 89-degree partly Tuesday night at Dow Diamond.

- Joe Vetrano drove in two of the final four runs for Great Lakes. The 23-year-old led off the sixth inning with a game-tying home run. With a 106 mph exit velocity and launched 408 feet, it tied the game at 5-5. In the eighth, Vetrano with two on, went first pitch hunting roping an RBI double smashed 111 mph to right field. It brought the score to 7-6 Peoria.

- Carlos Rojas’ two-run single up the middle grabbed the lead for the Loons. The groundball that skipped to centerfield plated Vetrano and Kyle Nevin, who walked aboard.

- Cam Day struck out two to down Peoria’s 5-6-7 hitters in order in the ninth. The right-hander, who walked three and allowed two runs in the seventh, retried the six of the last seven he faced, to earn the win.

- Nine of the 15 combined runs in the contest came across through the first three innings. Great Lakes scored the first three, with a three-run four-hit first. Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota, and Kyle Nevin each hit doubles, Sirota and Nevin drove in runs. Sirota appeared caught in a rundown after a Zyhir Hope single. A throw went to third base, and Sirota sprinted home.

- Chiefs first baseman Josh Kross went to work in the second and third inning. Kross crushed a two-run home run in the second and supplied an RBI single in the third. Ryan Campos, who was plated twice by Kross, connected on a two-run double in the third.

- Eriq Swan was on the hook for five runs through the first three innings but faced the minimum in the fourth and fifth. Evan Shaw shut down a two-on with two-out scenario in the sixth, inducing a flyout to left field.

Rounding Things Out

Logan Wagner started the three-run eighth inning with a single. It extends an active hitting streak to five games.

Up Next

The Loons and Chiefs are back tomorrow for game two of the series and game eight in a Great Lakes 12-game homestand. Wednesday is a Paws n Claws Night; enjoy half-off White Claws, and all dogs are invited. The first pitch is at 7:05 pm.

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.