MIDLAND, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied from a four-run deficit, but Zac Ching’s ninth-inning RBI-single helped Great Lakes Loons collect a 5-4 victory in front of 1,001 fans at Dow Diamond on Saturday afternoon.
Ching, who hit four of his 13 homers last season against West Michigan, delivered
MIDLAND, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied from a four-run deficit, but Zac Ching’s ninth-inning RBI-single helped Great Lakes Loons collect a 5-4 victory in front of 1,001 fans at Dow Diamond on Saturday afternoon.
Ching, who hit four of his 13 homers last season against West Michigan, delivered a broken-bat bloop single to score Leonel Valera from second base to give Great Lakes its first 2022 victory.
The Loons jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of homers by outfielder Johnny DeLuca, who belted a solo shot in the third before a two-run blast in the fifth. In the sixth, first baseman Austin Murr laced a two-run double to cut the Whitecaps deficit in half at 4-2 before Colt Keith tripled and scored in the eighth before a game-tying RBI-double by Mike Rothenberg in his’ Caps debut to knot the game at four. In the ninth, Valera knocked the first pitch he saw from West Michigan reliever RJ Petit off the left-field wall before coming home on the Ching single to end the ballgame.
Detroit Tigers Top-10 prospect Dylan Smith started and tossed three innings of one-run baseball while striking out four batters. Loons reliever Ryan Sublette (1-0) blew the save but pitched well enough to earn his first win of the season, while Petit (0-1) gave up a run in the ninth for his first loss of the year. West Michigan’s record falls to 1-1, while the Loons move to 1-1. The Whitecaps struck out 17 times in the loss, as there were 30 combined strikeouts between the two teams. Murr reached base in all four of his plate appearances Saturday, including a run, walk, double, and two RBI.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude this season-opening three-game series against the Great Lakes Loons on Sunday at 1:05 pm. West Michigan sends righty, and top Detroit Tigers prospect Ty Madden to the mound against the Loons pitcher Nick Nastrini. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.