COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps were unable to capitalize on a late scoring opportunity, falling to the Dayton Dragons 5-3 in front of 5,834 fans Saturday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
The Whitecaps loaded the bases with one out on three walks in the eighth when outfielder Junior Tilien bounced into a 5-2-3 double play to end the frame. Meanwhile, West Michigan pitchers registered 12 strikeouts but couldn’t finish the job, as Dayton rallied for two runs in the ninth to hand the ‘Caps the 5-3 loss.
Dayton plated two runs in the first inning on a pair of RBI singles from Carter Graham and Alfredo Alcantara, jumping in front 2-0. The ‘Caps responded in the second inning as infielder Samuel Gil plated Cristian Santana on a sacrifice fly before grabbing the lead in the third on consecutive RBI doubles from Bryce Rainer and Santana to take a 3-2 advantage. The Dragons tied the game in the sixth inning as designated hitter Yerlin Confidan blasted a solo homer over the right-field wall, evening the contest at three. Rainer later reached third base for the Whitecaps in the eighth inning with one out before Tilien bounced into the inning-ending double play, keeping the game tied. Dayton then surged ahead in the ninth as outfielder Esmith Pineda scored on a wild pitch before Kien Vu looped an RBI single into center field, extending the lead to 5-3. West Michigan went quietly in the bottom of the inning as Dragons closer Cody Adcock struck out the side to slam the door on the loss.
The Whitecaps fall to 12-20 while the Dragons improve to 18-14. Whitecaps reliever Thomas Bruss (0-2) suffers his second loss after allowing two runs in one inning pitched. Meanwhile, Adcock (1-0) earned his first win after tossing two scoreless innings. West Michigan has now lost 13 consecutive games, setting a new franchise record.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Dragons conclude this series on Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark beginning at 2:00pm. West Michigan lefty Gabriel Reyes goes for West Michigan against pitcher J.P. Ortiz for the Dragons. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:45pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.