COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps leaned on their bullpen to shut down the Fort Wayne TinCaps and earn a 3-0 shutout victory in front of 5,106 fans on a Super Splash Day Tuesday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
Despite finishing 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the Whitecaps didn’t allow a single TinCaps hitter to reach scoring position, holding Fort Wayne to just four base hits and not issuing a walk in the shutout win. The victory keeps West Michigan’s second half-record over .500 at 9-7.
West Michigan took the lead in the second inning as outfielder Andrew Sojka drove in Clayton Campbell with an RBI single, putting the ‘Caps in front 1-0. Whitecaps starting pitcher Preston Howey enjoyed one of his best outings of the season, tossing three scoreless frames with one strikeout before Sojka added an RBI groundout in the fourth, extending the lead to 2-0. ‘Caps relievers Logan Berrier and Inohan Paniagua combined for four scoreless frames before West Michigan added its final insurance run in the eighth on an RBI groundout from Jackson Strong to make it 3-0. Then, relievers CJ Weins and Zack Lee made quick work of the TinCaps in the final two innings, allowing just one base hit before Lee finished the ninth with a pair of strikeouts to secure the 3-0 shutout victory.
The Whitecaps improve to 9-7 in the second half and 33-47 overall, while the TinCaps fall to 7-9 in the second half and 34-48 overall. Berrier (1-3) picks up his first win of the season with two scoreless innings and one strikeout, while Lee locks down his third save. Fort Wayne starting pitcher Kannon Kemp (0-1) suffers the loss in his debut, giving up two runs over three innings pitched. West Michigan earns its first shutout victory since June 18, when they blanked the Lansing Lugnuts 16-0 to tie the most lopsided shutout in franchise history.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps return to the evening schedule to continue this six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Wednesday from LMCU Ballpark at 6:35pm. Lefty and Detroit Tigers Top-5 Prospect Ben Jacobs gets the start for West Michigan against the TinCaps Winyer Chourio. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20pm on ‘The Ticket West Michigan’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.