COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps erased a five-run deficit and rallied for an 11-10 victory over the Great Lakes Loons in front of a franchise-record 6,906 fans at Dow Diamond on Tuesday afternoon.
LISTEN: WHITECAPS RALLY IN MIDLAND PLUS A CONVERSATION WITH JUSTICE BIGBIE
The victory vaults
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps erased a five-run deficit and rallied for an 11-10 victory over the Great Lakes Loons in front of a franchise-record 6,906 fans at Dow Diamond on Tuesday afternoon.
LISTEN: WHITECAPS RALLY IN MIDLAND PLUS A CONVERSATION WITH JUSTICE BIGBIE
The victory vaults West Michigan into a first-place tie with Great Lakes at 21-13 while also giving manager Brayan Peña his 151st career managerial victory – passing former one-time ‘Caps skipper Phil Regan for fifth place on the Whitecaps all-time wins list.
As Tuesday’s contest unfolded, the Whitecaps fell into a steep early hole. After an Eliezer Alfonzo RBI-single in the first inning, Great Lakes scored the subsequent six runs, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from the Loons Damon Keith and Griffin Lockwood-Powell in the third to bring the score to 6-1 after three innings. In the fourth, Austin Murr blasted his second homer of the season, a two-run home run to kickstart the Whitecaps top-ranked Midwest League offense. An inning later, Izaac Pacheco launched a solo blast for his fifth home run before a game-tying two-run double by Danny Serretti knotted the contest at six. In the sixth, Roberto Campos blasted a go-ahead two-run home run, his fourth of the 2023 campaign, before the Loons answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. A two-run homer from Chris Alleyne helped Great Lakes take another lead – this time by a score of 9-8 after six frames.
In the eighth, the ‘Caps took the lead for good thanks to a three-run frame. Justice Bigbie, named Midwest League Player of the Week on Monday, delivered a game-tying RBI-single before Chris Meyers’s broken-bat, two-run single helped West Michigan take the lead at 11-9. In the bottom of the frame, Austin Gauthier, the Midwest League hits leader, blasted a solo home run to trim the ‘Caps edge to 11-10 before reliever Blake Holub retired the next three hitters to end the threat. In the ninth, a pair of two-out singles placed the potential tying run at third base before West Michigan pitcher Trevin Michael struck out Ismael Alcantara to end the ballgame and put the ‘Caps in a first-place tie atop the Midwest League Eastern Division.
The ‘Caps and Loons each end Tuesday holding identical records of 21-13, with West Michigan currently holding the tiebreaker. Whitecaps reliever Chavez Fernander (2-0) picks up his second win for tossing 1.2 scoreless frames out of the bullpen, while Loons pitcher Christian Suarez (0-2) suffers his second loss. Michael tossed a scoreless ninth to collect his first save in a Whitecaps uniform. Campos led the offense on Tuesday, reaching base three times with a double, home run, walk, two RBI, and three runs scored in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps return to the evening schedule to continue this six-game series with the Great Lakes Loons Wednesday at 6:05 pm. Pitcher Wilkel Hernandez gets the start for West Michigan against Loons lefty Maddux Bruns. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 5:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2023 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.