COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps scored 14 runs across the first three innings as they put their name in club history with in their biggest offensive output of the season – a 16-0 blowout of the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,392 fans Thursday night at LMCU Ballpark.
‘Caps infielder and Detroit Tigers No. 2 prospect Bryce Rainer and first baseman Garrett Pennington combined for eight RBI, including a pair of two-run homers, as the Whitecaps finished 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Whitecaps pitchers held Lansing to just three hits while recording 14 strikeouts in the victory. The Whitecaps matched their most lopsided shutout victory in franchise history, a feat they last accomplished in a 16-0 win – also against the Lansing Lugnuts – on August 24 of last season at LMCU Ballpark.
West Michigan scored four runs in the first inning, highlighted by Rainer’s two-run home run, before Pennington followed with a two-run blast in the second frame to help give the Whitecaps a 6-0 lead. West Michigan then exploded for eight runs in the third, as designated hitter Ricardo Hurtado added the 'Caps third home run of the night—another two-run blast—to stretch the lead to 14-0. Meanwhile, ‘Caps starter Ben Jacobs was tremendous, collecting six strikeouts across four shutout frames. Infielder Woody Hadeen later scored Luke Shliger on an RBI groundout to extend the advantage to 15-0. Whitecaps pitcher Lucas Elissalt picked up where Jacobs left off, tossing four scoreless innings with six strikeouts while Hadeen added the ‘Caps' final run of the game with an RBI single in the seventh, making it 16-0. Reliever Cole Waites – pitching for West Michigan as part of a Minor League Rehab Assignment – finished the ninth with a pair of strikeouts to complete the shutout victory.
Elissalt (1-4) earned his first win of the season, while Lugnuts starting pitcher Steven Echavarria (2-5) suffered his fifth loss after allowing nine runs (six earned) over 2.2 innings. Lansing committed four errors in the defeat. Every Whitecaps position player either collected a base hit or scored a run in the victory.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Lansing Lugnuts play the third game of this series on Friday at 6:35pm – with Midwest League teams officially opening the second half of the season. Pitchers Carlos Marcano and Samuel Dutton get the starts for the Whitecaps and Lugnuts. 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.