Whitecaps Spurn Loons Comeback, Win 7-5

MIDLAND, Mich. – For the second straight night, the Great Lakes Loons (6-5) overcame a three-run deficit but were met with a response from the West Michigan Whitecaps (5-6). Tonight, a four-run Loons bottom of the seventh was answered by three straight Whitecaps runs. A 7-5 final on a 61-degree Wednesday night, with mist falling on and off at Dow Diamond.

Two walks and a Seth Stephenson RBI single tied the game at five in the top of the eighth inning. A single, walk, two errors, and two West Michigan batters being hit by a pitch aided two runs to make it 7-5 in the ninth. Great Lakes needed three pitchers to get through the two innings and were set down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

The Loons, down 4-1 entering the seventh, took a 5-4 advantage. Noah Miller walked, and Dylan Campbell poked a single to a vacant right side of the infield. Campbell has nine hits in his last 13 at-bats. Luis Rodriguez followed up with an RBI single, and then the game-tying knock came from Sam Mongelli, a two-run double. It was Mongelli’s first extra-base hit of 2024.

Early home runs were the first slice of scoring for both sides. West Michigan’s Cole Turney went deep in the second, and Kyle Nevin launched one to left field in the fourth. Nevin hit it 352 feet, 103 mph off the foul pole. Two of the other three Whitecaps runs came in the final four innings, one in the sixth and seventh respectively.

Loons starter Jerming Rosario, worked through two runs in the second, to complete a clean third. Kelvin Bautista, out of the pen, followed up with two scoreless, with two strikeouts. Bautista has the longest active scoreless streak for Great Lakes, five innings.

Rounding Things Out

For the second straight season, the first Loons home run at Dow Diamond was hit by the designated hitter. Tonight, Nevin and last season Yunior Garcia on April 18, 2023, versus the South Bend Cubs.

Up Next

Great Lakes and West Michigan face off in game three of the six-game series tomorrow Thursday, April 18th. The first pitch is at 6:05 p.m. It is a Thirsty Thursday, presented by John P. O'Sullivan.

The Great Lakes Loons have been 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 Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.