Great Lakes wins first Midwest League title in wild finale

The Class A Great Lakes Loons claimed their first Midwest League title on Sunday, defeating Clinton, 9-8, in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.

The Loons used a five-run sixth inning to power past the LumberKings in a game that featured four lead changes and a benches-clearing incident.

• Complete Dodgers prospects coverage at MLBPipeline.com/dodgers

Mariners No. 6 prospect Alex Jackson was the only Midwest League hitter to take Great Lakes starter Yadier Alvarez (Dodgers’ No. 5) deep during the regular season and he repeated the feat on Sunday, hitting a towering blast to straightaway left field to open the second inning and give Clinton a 1-0 lead. The LumberKings’ offense didn’t stop there, as they would push across two more runs in the frame on second baseman Chris Mariscal’s two-out double.

Great Lakes responded with three runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game, 3-3. Logan Landon led off with a single, advanced to second when DJ Peters took a pitch to the helmet and then came around to score the Loons’ first run on Jake Henson’s one-out double. After a mound visit from the LumberKings’ pitching coach, Matt Jones delivered a two-run single to center field.

• Box score

Emotions ran high in the bottom of the third inning when the benches cleared after Clinton starter Nick Neidert hit Brendon Davis above the shoulders. No ejections resulted from the near skirmish, although warnings were issued to both clubs.

Great Lakes leadoff man Saige Jenco gave the Loons their first lead in the fourth inning with an RBI single, but Clinton quickly tied it up with Dalton Kelly’s solo home run to open the fifth.

In the sixth, Mariscal put the LumberKings ahead with a two-run homer to the …

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