Loons soar past Whitecaps
MIDLAND, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps offense found itself quieted by effective pitching, as they lost to the Great Lakes Loons 5-1 Monday at Dow Diamond.
Early on, it looked as if West Michigan would have no problem against Loons starter Andrew Sopko, as Mike Gerber blasted his team-high twelfth home run of the season in the opening inning. From that point on, Loons pitchers shut out the 'Caps, allowing just five base hits through the next eight innings. The score would stay the same until the fifth, when Logan Landon put the Loons ahead with his second home run on a towering down the left-field line to take a 2-1 lead. Great Lakes added three insurance runs in the seventh, as they cruised to a split of the first two games of this three-game set. Whitecaps scoring chances were few and far between Monday, as their only plate appearance with multiple runners on-base came with two outs in the ninth inning.
Sopko (2-1) allowed only Gerber's home run in five effective innings to notch his second victory, while Artie Lewicki (3-4) took a tough-luck fourth loss of 2015 by allowing Landon's two-run shot despite five effective innings of his own. The Whitecaps record falls to 37-26 in the second half and 70-62 overall. The Loons second half mark advances to 27-35, with an even 65-65 record on the year. Will Kengor and Ross Kivett led the Whitecaps each with two hits in the contest. With the loss, the Whitecaps magic number remains at three with seven games left to play to clinch a trip to the 2015 Midwest League Playoffs.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude this three-game series against the Loons Tuesday at 7:05pm. Spencer Turnbull gets the starting nod for West Michigan against Issac Anderson for Great Lakes. If you can't make it to the ballpark, broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:55pm. A reminder that season, group and individual tickets can be reserved for any 2015 home game by calling the Whitecaps' front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.