COMSTOCK PARK, MI – West Michigan Whitecaps starting pitcher Hayden Minton escaped a couple of early jams as infielder Junior Tilien added the biggest swing of the day in a 7-1 win over the Lake County Captains in front of 4,008 fans Wednesday at LMCU Ballpark.
Minton left six total baserunners stranded through the first three innings while collecting four strikeouts, as ‘Caps pitchers held Lake County to just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Tilien sent his first homer of the year over the left-field wall, a three-run shot, helping West Michigan capture the 7-1 victory.
After Minton escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, Tilien came through with his three-run home run in the bottom half, giving the Whitecaps a 3-0 lead. Lake County and West Michigan traded individual runs in the third inning, as Captains infielder Dean Curley added an RBI double before ‘Caps outfielder Nolan McCarthy responded with an RBI single, stretching West Michigan’s lead to 4-1. The Whitecaps bullpen was automatic after the third inning, as relievers Duque Hebbert, Zack Lee, and Logan Berrier combined to allow just one hit over 5.2 innings while striking out 10. At the same time, the ‘Caps plated a run in the fifth on an RBI triple from Cristian Santana before scoring a pair in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run double from Clayton Campbell, putting the finishing touches on the convincing 7-1 victory.
The Whitecaps improve to 11-6 while the Captains fall to 8-9. Hebbert (1-0) secures his first win of the season with 1.2 scoreless innings and two strikeouts, while Captains starting pitcher Jackson Humphries (0-1) suffers his first loss, giving up four runs over 2.1 innings pitched. Whitecaps pitchers have stranded a total of 18 runners over the first two games of the series. Infielder Juan Hernandez reached base a team-high three times as West Michigan remains in first place in the Midwest League Eastern Division, holding a 1.5-game lead over the Great Lakes Loons.
UP NEXT
This six-game series between the Whitecaps and Captains rolls on with a Thursday evening bout beginning at 6:35pm. Pitchers Lucas Elissalt and Braylon Doughty get the starts for the Whitecaps and Captains. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.