The Top 10 Games of the 2011 Season


It was a fantastic season for the Lugnuts, leading all the way to the MWL Championship Series.
See if you agree with our favorite games of the year:

Honorable Mention: Marcus Knecht feels grand... twice, August 19th and 20th.
* read the 8/19 release * read the 8/20 release * listen to the 8/19 grand slam * the 8/20 slam *
The Lugnuts only hit two grand slams all year. Both were hit by All-Star left fielder Marcus Knecht. Even more impressively, Knecht connected in back-to-back games.

10. The Lugnuts get home run happy against the Hot Rods, May 22nd.
* read the press release * listen to Brisker's homer * Hobson's homer * Knecht's homer *
It was the easiest victory of the Lugnuts season, a 14-1 stroll past the Bowling Green Hot Rods on a beautiful Sunday in Michigan's state capital, featuring home runs from Markus Brisker, Lance Durham, K.C. Hobson and Marcus Knecht. The rout came amid a dominating sweep of the Hot Rods that saw the Lugnuts pile up 44 runs in four games.

9. Is that a fire alarm? May 2nd.
* read the press release * listen to Marisnick's game-winning single *
With a fire alarm going off in the ballpark in the bottom of the tenth inning, Jake Marisnick stayed calm against Lake County closer Clayton Ehlert. Marisnick lined an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Giovanny Urshela, lifting the Lugnuts to their first walk-off victory of the year.

8. The heat rises in Clinton, July 16th.
* read the press release *
The Lugnuts' finest road trip of the year was a seven-victory, nine-game, 10-day trek from Lake County, Ohio, to Kane County, Illinois, to Clinton, Iowa. You couldn't have blamed the Lugs if they had lost their opener at the Clinton LumberKings' Alliant Energy Field, but Carlos Perez wouldn't let it happen. The 20-year-old catcher went 4-for-6 with four RBIs, lining a game-tying single in the ninth and a go-ahead single in the eleventh inning to lift the Lugnuts to an emotional 8-5 victory. The game featured dramatic defense, close calls, heated arguments and the ejections of the Lugs' Jake Marisnick in the ninth and Clinton manager Eddie Menchaca in the tenth inning.

7. A play at the plate, August 4th.
* read the press release * listen to Hobson's game-winning sacrifice fly *
The Lugnuts were an impressive 9-2 in extra-innings and it was games like this that showed why. It was a tense 1-1 game against the South Bend Silver Hawks, going to the bottom of the tenth inning on Jackson Field. A Michael Crouse hustle double put the game-winning run into scoring position. Three batters later, K.C. Hobson's fly ball to right set up a jaw-rattling play at home plate to decide the game.

6. Knecht caps Lugs' 9th inning rally, May 13th-14th.
* read the press release * listen to Knecht's RBI double *
The 2011 Lugnuts were a team loaded with dramatic comebacks, perhaps never more so than the Lugs' finish in mid-May against Great Lakes. The game was suspended from the previous day due to rain in the third inning, with the Loons taking a 6-3 lead to the bottom of the ninth only to see Markus Brisker line a two-run single to cut the lead to one, Gustavo Pierre steal home (in a combined double steal with Brisker) to tie the score, and Marcus Knecht line a game-winning double to left to finish off Great Lakes' misery.

5. Shoeless Hobson scores a game-winner, August 28th.
* read the press release * listen to Knecht's RBI double *
Fort Wayne closer Kevin Quackenbush had not allowed a run all year, but the Lugnuts capped off a wild 10-inning 5-3 victory at Parkview Field with a pair of runs against the TinCaps' fireman, headlined by a Marcus Knecht RBI double that scored a half-shoeless K.C. Hobson. Until this game, the 'Caps had defeated the Lugnuts in 10 of 13 meetings but the victory broke started a stretch of five straight wins for the Lugs over Fort Wayne -- including the Eastern Division Finals.

4. The first day of the second half - Hobson plays the hero, June 24th.
* read the press release * listen to Hobson's game-winning home run *
First baseman K.C. Hobson came up huge for the Lugnuts in the second half opener, tying the Lugs and the Loons with a clutch RBI single in the eighth inning before crushing a walk-off home run to right field in the eleventh inning to give Lansing an exciting 6-4 victory. It was the Lugnuts' only walk-off home run of the regular season... but not their only one of the season.

3. The final day of the first half - the Lugs clinch a playoff berth, June 19th.
* read the press release * listen to Marisnick's leadoff home run *
The Lugnuts owned the Eastern Division for the majority of the first half... but late struggles dropped the team into third place. On the final day of the first half, Lansing needed both a win at Dayton and a Great Lakes loss to Fort Wayne in order to make the playoffs. Jake Marisnick set the tone immediately at Fifth Third Field, leading off the game with a home run, and Drew Hutchison extended his shutout streak to 27 innings with six scoreless frames in a dominant 8-2 victory. Meanwhile, the TinCaps upset the Loons, vaulting the Lugnuts into the playoffs.

2. Michael Crouse helps the Lugnuts "walk" off with the Eastern Division title, September 12th.
* read the press release * listen to Crouse's game-winning walk *
It was a rollercoaster ride through Game 2 of the Eastern Division Finals, with the Lugnuts and Fort Wayne TinCaps trading leads and dramatic comebacks all the way to the bottom of the ninth inning. An Oliver Dominguez ground-rule double and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out and Michael Crouse's patience gave the Lugs the Eastern Division crown.

1. Matt Nuzzo keeps the Lugnuts alive, September 9th.
* read the press release * listen to Nuzzo's stunning roundtripper *
Down to their last out in Game 2 of the Eastern Division Semifinals against powerful Dayton and untouchable closer Drew Hayes, Matt Nuzzo rocked Cooley Law School Stadium and shocked the Midwest League with a two-run game-winning homer. The Dragons' championship dreams ended one day later in a 4-3 loss to the Lugnuts.