‘Caps Bats Silenced in 5-1 Loss
EASTLAKE, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps offense was quieted by a third straight starting pitcher Friday night as lefty Parker Messick struck out ten batters in six innings as part of a 5-1 loss to the Lake County Captains in front of 4,568 fans at Classic Park. Messick, who
EASTLAKE, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps offense was quieted by a third straight starting pitcher Friday night as lefty Parker Messick struck out ten batters in six innings as part of a 5-1 loss to the Lake County Captains in front of 4,568 fans at Classic Park.
Messick, who came into the contest without allowing an earned run against West Michigan in 11 innings on the mound, continued his West Michigan domination this season, pushing his streak to 17 scoreless innings on the year. Over the past three games, Captains starting pitchers have combined to throw 22 innings while allowing just three runs while striking out 18 batters.
The Captains opened the scoring in the third on an RBI-double by C.J. Kayfus before Lake County tacked on another run with a single by Jonah Advincula in the fourth, extending the lead to 2-0. A three-run fifth inning was highlighted by Nate Furman’s seventh home run of the season, pushing the Captains lead to 5-0. A solo home run by Luis Santana in the seventh brought home West Michigan’s only run, ending the scoring in the ballgame.
The Whitecaps and Captains draw even in the first four games of their six-game series at two games apiece, as West Michigan’s record goes to 22-21 while the Captains jump to 24-19. Messick (3-4) earns his third win of the year after giving up nine runs in his last start against Lansing, while Dylan Smith (0-3) suffers his third loss, giving up five runs in 4.1 frames in the contest. Izaac Pacheco, who launched the game-winning home run in West Michigan’s 4-1 victory on Thursday, led the ‘Caps offense by going 2-for-3 at the plate in a losing cause.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the penultimate contest of this six-game series against the Lake County Captains on Saturday night at 6:35 pm. Pitchers Colin Fields and Matt ‘Tugboat’ Wilkinson get the starts for West Michigan and Lake County. To catch all the action, tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Don’t miss out on the excitement; get your tickets for all 2024 home contests or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.