COMSTOCK PARK, MI – A late offensive fury helped lift the West Michigan Whitecaps past the Lansing Lugnuts 7-3 for their fourth straight victory in front of their second-largest crowd of the season, with 8,628 fans in attendance on Saturday night at LMCU Ballpark.
West Michigan scored six runs across the seventh and eighth innings as Whitecaps infielders Bryce Rainer and Garrett Pennington combined for four RBI, including Pennington’s third home run in as many games, as all ‘Caps hitters reached base in the win. With the win, the ‘Caps hold a record of 10-5 in June after going 4-23 in the Month of May and have posted an overall mark of 12-4 against the rival Lugnuts this season.
The Lugnuts grabbed the lead in the first inning on an RBI single from infielder Ali Camarillo before Pennington’s solo blast in the bottom half leveled the game at one. Both starting pitchers canceled each other out after the first inning, as ‘Caps starter Jake Miller limited the Lugnuts to just two baserunners through the fourth, while Lansing starting pitcher Zane Taylor held the Whitecaps in check, allowing just one run through six frames and keeping the game tied at one. The Whitecaps then exploded for five runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run single from Rainer, giving the ‘Caps a 6-1 edge. Lansing scratched across two runs in the eighth on an RBI single from infielder Jared Sprague-Lott before designated hitter Myles Naylor followed with an RBI double, trimming the lead to 6-3. The Whitecaps weren’t finished, as Andrew Sojka scored on a wild pitch in the eighth before Whitecaps closer Jalen Evans slammed the door with a scoreless ninth inning to send West Michigan to the victory.
The Whitecaps improve to 2-0 in the second half and 26-40 overall, while the Lugnuts fall to 0-2 in the second half and 29-37 overall. Reliever Luke Stofel (1-2) picked up his first win as a Whitecap, tossing a scoreless inning while adding a strikeout. Lugnuts starting pitcher Zane Taylor (5-4) suffered his fourth loss, giving up two runs through 6.1 innings pitched. Rainer is hitting his stride in the month of June, batting .327 with a .424 on-base percentage, including seven extra-base hits and 13 RBI through 13 games. Moreover, infielder Samuel Gil led the ‘Caps with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate and is now 17-for-39 (.436) at the plate in June.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude the fifth and final game of this rain-shortened series with a Sunday matinee at 2:00pm. Rayner Castillo and Mitch Myers are scheduled to get the starts for the ‘Caps and ‘Lugs. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler 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.