Hot Rods designated hitter Josh Lowe (18) gets a lead off first base Saturday, July 8, 2017, as Great Lakes pitcher A.J. Alexy (22) pitches during a game at Bowling Green Ballpark. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

It was lucky number seven for the Bowling Green Hot Rods, who extended their season-best seven-game win streak with a 5-2 win over Great Lakes (Mich.) on Saturday night at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Bowling Green (41-43 overall, 10-7 second half) jumped out to a five-run advantage, but had to survive a late threat from Great Lakes to improve to 9-2 in the last 11 games.

Bowling Green has won the first five games in the current seven-game homestand, outscoring its opponents 30-13. The Hot Rods have allowed three runs or less in four of the five games.

The Hot Rods were able to build a 4-0 advantage on two swings – a solo homer from Garrett Whitley in the fourth and a three-run shot by Bobby Melley in the sixth.

Jesus Sanchez added an RBI single in the seventh to extend the margin to 5-0 before Great Lakes (44-42, 8-9) tried to rally in the ninth off reliever Deivy Mendez.

The first three Loons reached, including a two-run single from O’Neill Cruz. After getting a strikeout, Mendez walked Jared Walker to bring the tying run to the plate with one out.

Joe Serrapica relieved Mendez and induced a game-ending double play to secure the victory and pick up his second save of the season.

Bowling Green finished with 11 hits. Sanchez, Melley, Jonah Heim and Mike Brosseau finished with two hits each.

POWER SURGE

Saturday’s home runs continued a recent power surge for the Bowling Green offense. The Hot Rods have six homers in the first five games of the current homestand and have 14 of the team’s 64 homers in the last 11 games.

PIKE’S PEAK

Chris Pike’s transition to knuckleball pitcher continued with another solid outing Saturday. Pike went five shutout innings, scattering four hits with four walks and four strikeouts to win a second straight start and improve to 2-2 on the season.

Since rejoining the Hot Rods on June 10 Pike has made five starts, allowing eight earned runs in 31 innings of work with 19 strikeouts and four walks.

Up Next

The series with Great Lakes (Mich.) continues at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday with a pair of right-handers slated to start.

Willy Ortiz (3-1, 4.36) is scheduled to start for the Hot Rods. Ortiz has wins in three of his last four starts, allowing seven earned runs in 22 innings of work. He tossed seven shutout innings in a win over Dayton (Ohio) to start the homestand on Tuesday.

Jordan Sheffield (2-5, 3.67) is scheduled to start for the Loons. The 2016 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt is 2-3 over his last six starts, allowing 12 earned runs in 25 innings of work. He took the loss in his only start against the Hot Rods on June 3, allowing one earned run in four innings.{&end}