TOP TEN Loons Games of 2010, Part 2
And now to continue the list started last week, I present Part 2 of the Top Ten Loons Games of 2010. For Games 10 through 6, click here.
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5. ‘Jerry’s Last Hurrah!’ — 6.17.2010
Jerry Sands was the Loons most valuable player during the first-half of the season, accumulating 48 runs, 81 hits, 18 home runs and 46 RBI in 69 games with the Loons for a .333 batting average and three MWL Player of the Week awards. On June 17, Sands made sure his last game at Dow Diamond was a good one by going 3-for-5 to account for four of the team’s seven runs. But it was his final at-bat that really made the night special. Tied 6–6 in the eighth inning, Sands blasted a solo home run to left field that rung half-way up the flagpole (or even higher depending on who you ask), which proved to be the game winner. Less than a week later, Sands said his final goodbye to the MWL by blasting a homer in the league’s All-Star Game (pictured), of which he was named MVP. Full Story / Know Your Loons / All-Star Coverage / All-Star Photos
4. ‘All Wall’ — 7.7.2010
Loons starting pitcher Josh Wall used 117 pitches on Wednesday, July 7, to become the franchise’s first pitcher to throw for a 9-inning complete game. To make the outing even more special, Wall kept the visiting Lugnuts team scoreless to record his first career shutout. The 23-year-old limited the Lugnuts to three hits in the 8–0 win, tossing six strikeouts to three walks in the two-hour and 40-minute bout. The win was Wall’s fifth in a row; he eventually finished the season as the Midwest League’s strikeout leader with 151. Full Story / Video Highlights
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3. ‘Avenging ‘09’ — 9.10.2010
In 2009, the Loons were ousted from their first Midwest League postseason by the Fort Wayne TinCaps, who eventually went on to become champions of the league. But the Loons had the last laugh in 2010, winning 6–4 in Game 3 of the Midwest League’s Quarterfinals. The Loons jumped out to an early lead in the contest, but the ‘Caps rallied to make it 3–2 in the sixth inning. Angelo Songco’s RBI-double and a Joe Becker sacrifice-fly recaptured the Loons lead and Rafael Ynoa’s homer in the seventh was icing on the cake. With the win, the Loons advanced to the MWL’s Eastern Division Championship Series for the second year in a row. Full Story / Video Highlights
2. ‘A Night of Numbers’ — 8.24.2010
With a Dow Diamond record-high crowd of 6,079 in attendance, the Great Lakes Loons registered their 82nd win of the season, surpassing the franchise’s highest single-season win total of 81 (’09) with a 9–3 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps. Earlier in the day, Loons Manager Juan Bustabad was honored by his peers as the Midwest League Manager of the Year. His special day continued later that night with the win, the 700th of his managerial career. Homering on the night was Jaime Ortiz with a two-run dinger to the right-field fire pit and a solo shot from third baseman Brian Ruggiano. Full Story / Video Highlights / 700 Photos
1. ‘The Crazy Eighth’ — 9.9.2010
Never has the Funky Feather been more in unison than on September 9, when the Great Lakes Loons rallied from three runs down to defeat the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a score of 10–5 in Game 2 of the Midwest League’s Quarterfinals and avoid postseason elimination. As seen in Top Loons Game №3, the Loons went on to win the series against the defending champs, but it all started in the seventh inning of Game 2. The Loons chipped away at the TinCaps lead in the seventh with a Nick Buss single that scored two runs, which were also the team’s first of the series. But the madness reached its peak in the eighth inning as the Loons used five hits, two walks and two errors to score eight runs and force a deciding Game 3. The game, filled with high energy and one absurd inning, is what From the Nest considers the most memorable game of the 2010 season. Full Story / Video Highlights
