Late Whitecaps Rally Secures Series for West Michigan

MIDLAND, Mich. – After the seventh inning Sunday afternoon at Dow Diamond, the West Michigan Whitecaps were tied with the Great Lakes Loons, 3-3.

After the eighth, the Whitecaps took a 5-3 lead, still well within reach for the home side.

When the Loons picked up the bats in the bottom of the ninth, they trailed by 11 runs. They got one back in the frame, but it was still a comfortable win for West Michigan, 14-4.

The Whitecaps (2-1) put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth inning, scoring nine runs in the frame and sending 12 batters to the plate. The visitors scored those nine on just six hits, three of them for extra bases. The last runs of the frame were driven in on a two-run blast from Parker Meadows, his second home run of the season.

West Michigan took a lead it would not relinquish in the inning prior, scoring two runs on two hits in the frame. A triple from Andrew Navigato plated Austin Murr, and Navigato would score on a sacrifice fly from Carlos Irigoyen.

The Loons (1-2) took the first lead of the game with their very first batter, as Jonny Deluca continued his hot streak with a leadoff longball. The second-year Loon now has three home runs in the last two games.

That home run was the only damage that the Loons could do against West Michigan starter Ty Madden, last year’s first-round draft pick by the Tigers. In his pro debut, the former Texas Longhorn tossed four innings of one-hit baseball, allowing just the one run and one walk while racking up six strikeouts.

Great Lakes right-hander Nick Nastrini had an impressive first start as a Loon, striking out three batters in two hitless innings, though he did allow three baserunners: two walks and a hit batsman.

Cole Percival kept the no-hitter going until the fifth inning, retiring each batter he faced in the third and fourth frames. In the fifth, he allowed two runs on an Eliezer Alfonso round-tripper, and the Whitecaps took the lead for the first time.

That lead was short-lived, as the Loons battled back in the bottom of the frame. Zac Ching drew a walk, Joe Vranesh singled, then the hosts got back-to-back run-scoring singles from Kekai Rios and DeLuca, who would finish his day 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. After five innings, the Loons led 3-2, but would not lead after that. The Whitecaps pushed across a run in the top of the sixth before their back-inning barrage put them on top for good.

In addition to a strong start from Nastrini, the Loons got good relief work out of Aldry Acosta, who pitched two perfect innings in his first appearance of the season. Acosta came in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth inning, and allowed just one inherited runner to score on a groundout. He also picked up his first strikeout of the year.

On the pitching side, Cole Duensing takes the loss in his first appearance in the Dodgers’ organization. Bryce Tassin earns the win with two hitless innings in which he faced the minimum: his one baserunner, a hit batsman, was erased by a ground ball double play.

The Loons now turn their attention to their first road trip of the young season, as they head to Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill., to take on the St. Louis Cardinals-affiliated Peoria Chiefs. Right-hander Gavin Stone is scheduled to make his first start of the season for the Loons, facing off against fellow righty Austin Love. The six-game series begins Tuesday night at 7:35 p.m. Eastern.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.