'Caps Come Up Short in 5-3 Loss
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied late but couldn’t complete the job, falling to the Lake County Captains 5-3 in front of 5,027 fans Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark. The ‘Caps scored two runs in the ninth inning on a two-run single by Junior Tilien, but it
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps rallied late but couldn’t complete the job, falling to the Lake County Captains 5-3 in front of 5,027 fans Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
The ‘Caps scored two runs in the ninth inning on a two-run single by Junior Tilien, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. West Michigan finished just 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position, while the Captains scattered five runs across the final four innings in the loss.
Both pitching staffs traded blows through the first five innings. For West Michigan, Troy Watson, Carlos Marcano, and Luke Stofel combined five scoreless frames with five strikeouts. Meanwhile, Captains pitchers Justin Campbell and Melkis Hernández matched them with five scoreless innings and seven strikeouts, keeping the game tied at zero. Both teams plated a run in the sixth inning, as a Captains designated hitter delivered an RBI single before Whitecaps third baseman Cristian Santana responded with a line-drive RBI, tying the game at one. Lake County then piled on three runs across the seventh and eighth innings, highlighted by a two-run homer from outfielder Esteban González, taking a 4-1 lead. The Captains pushed their final run across in the ninth when Jace LaViolette scored on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, extending the lead to 5-1. West Michigan rallied in the bottom half of the frame as Tilien lined a two-run single into left field, but the comeback fell short as the Whitecaps dropped the contest 5-3.
The Whitecaps fall to 12-9, while the Captains improve to 11-10. Stofel (0-1) suffered his first loss, allowing one run over 1.1 innings pitched, while Hernández (3-1) secured his third win, allowing just one run over four innings with five strikeouts. Whitecaps utility player Garrett Pennington finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk, continuing his strong start to the 2026 season. He has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, adding five home runs and driving in 16 RBI.
UP NEXT
The first game of six between the Whitecaps and Kernels is set for Tuesday beginning at 7:05pm. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.