Yesterday afternoon, I landed in Midland Michigan for a game between Los Pepinillos Picantes (Great Lake Loons) and Las Manzanas Luchadoras (Ft. Wayne Tin Caps). The rivalry between the Dodgers and Padres MWL affiliates took place during a Copa Diversion game-ergo the wacky names and uniforms.

For the better part of the last year and a half, I had been trying to check the Loons and Dow Diamond Field off my MWL list. After some crazy planning and a long 320-mile drive I picked up my ticket (actual not digital) and did a little recon of downtown Midland. Even after walking around an art fest, I never really got a sense of the place.

While the Dodgers and Padres have a pretty strong rivalry it wasn’t until I was driving home this morning that I realized how close Ft. Wayne and Midland are to one another. The Loons joined the MWL in 2007 and Ft. Wayne moved into their current ballpark in 2009. According to the Loons broadcast team, Brad Tunney and John Vicari, the Tin Caps looked at Dow for inspiration. However, Dow is unique for many reasons. One notable difference is the presence of The Mitt, 100.9 FM. Not only does the station have a relationship with the team, their permanent studio and offices are on campus. They offered a great perspective on the team, ballpark, industry and league. They are also a good listen.

Like most of the ballparks in the MWL, Dow is 360 degree which means fans can circle the entire field and view the game from everywhere save for behind the batter’s eye on the outfield concourse. There is no bleacher seating and the outfield berms are neither as steep or deep as most ballparks. That means anybody hoping to stand at the outfield wall won’t risk life and limb to do so. It’s actually a neat spot to spend an inning for two.

The sightlines are very good although the inside of the park doesn’t photograph too well. As they don’t play many afternoon games, you always are dealing with dusk and the unique features of the park don’t stand out. They also don’t have as many party spaces/decks in the park. The pavilion in left field overlooks Terry Collins Corner and is commemorated inside the seating area.

I was completely unTaware of the relationship between Collins and Midland until I saw the plaque. There is also a nice little Midland HOF, next two the two-story Loons Loft (gift shop).

Other than a Mexican themed food truck on the right field concourse, there weren’t any terribly unique food offerings which isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy my pulled pork sandwich from the BBQ stand. To their credit, they aren’t aiming for over-the-top fads. A domestic 16oz draft was only $7 and change (including tax). Remember when the tax was built into the price? No wandering vendors.

Despite the fact, Lou E Loon is heavily marketed, he’s not as omnipresent as some mascots. Before entering the ballpark, I met the two employees entrusted with is various costumes (for theme nights). Editor’s note: Lou, Louis, or Louie has to be the most popular name for mascots.

Before stopping in to see John and Brad, I stopped by Guest Servies and First Aid. They all couldn’t have been nicer even if the lineup posted, preprinted on a giveaway, and announced before the game were incorrect. The program was typical and included nice bios, upcoming events and a decent scorecard. However, the never corrected lineups screwed things up for a few innings. Luckily, I came prepared.

While I don’t have to see my favorite team play for me to enjoy a game-as I’ll find a reason to root one way or another two pitches into a game, I hate watching a lack of command. That’s why I don’t care for high school baseball, too damn many unforced errors.

The FW Fighting Apples wore yellow jerseys featuring an irate green apple (instead of the usual red apple) and the Spicy Pickles, and red/blue jersey with a lively pickle on the front. Ordinarily, Fort Wayne’s jerseys have horrible block numbers on the back(only).

Without spoiling the end, the game was determined by walks, wild pitches and some key double plays.

Four of the Dodgers top 30 prospects were in the lineup including starting pitcher, #29, Patrick Copen. The 6’6 right-handed 23-year-old was leading the league with 73 strikeouts and ERA and a 3-1 record. Despite showing flashes and an occasional fastball in the mid 90’s, his command was off and he didn’t look crisp in his 4 innings of one-hit ball. Too many batters took him to three-ball counts. His replacement, Sean Linan’s command was even worse. He walked four baters, all of whom scored on two wild pitches-one bouncing in front of the plate and the other “just a bit outside.”

The Dodgers #2 and #3 prospects, Josue De Paula and Zahir Hope respectively were a combined 1-5 with three walks. The Padres highest rated prospect, Leo De Vries was only 1-5 with a key RBI in the team’s 4-run 6th inning.

With four of the eight runs coming via the walk or wild pitch, it’s hard to credit many players with offensive prowess, but I’ll try. Great Lakes second baseman, Logan Wagner smacked a liner to right field in the bottom of the first to give them a quick 1-0 lead. What surprised me about the homer wasn’t the distance, but rather the home plate ran with Wagner around the bases, almost as if he were sporting an ump cam or was providing security.

Fort Wayne catcher, Oswaldo Linares was 1-2 with an RBI sac-fly and 2-RBI single in the 6th. For his part, San Diego’s #10 prospect, Isaiah Lowe, pitched just well enough, but not long enough to win. Due to his high pitch count (88 in 4.2 innings) and lack of command, 4 hits, 2 earned runs and 2 walks, his ERA dropped from 6.48 to 6.07.

Because the game was plagued by walks, horrible fielding plays and wild pitches, it’s too painful for me to recount the actual scoring, To sum it up the Loons took a 2-0 lead into the 6th inning, the Tin Caps scored 4 in the inning and added another 2 in the 7th. All six runs were unearned. Game, set, match.

On a couple of occasions each team was done in by timely double plays. Early in the game Loons shortstop Brandon Thompson acrobatically made a Dansby Swanson like play. Unironically, he killed a rally of his own in the bottom of the 8th.

While it probably didn’t reach the Dodger faithful back in LA, the Tin Caps won 6-2 in front of 3,503 fans who braved 16 mph winds and 60 degrees (ha!).

I had a wonderful time, put faces to names, caught a game in a new ballpark and treated myself to some decent BBQ and made it back to Casa Bob with a half-gallon of iced tea.