‘Caps Down Loons, 12-0
MIDLAND, MI — The West Michigan Whitecaps put on a power display in Midland, launching two home runs while compiling a season-high in runs en route to a 12-0 shutout victory over the Great Lakes Loons Thursday evening at Dow Diamond. Luke Gold added his second home run of the
MIDLAND, MI — The West Michigan Whitecaps put on a power display in Midland, launching two home runs while compiling a season-high in runs en route to a 12-0 shutout victory over the Great Lakes Loons Thursday evening at Dow Diamond.
Luke Gold added his second home run of the season - a two-run blast - before Josh Crouch hit a grand slam in the fifth inning - the first by a Whitecaps player since Gold did so on August 22 last year.
The 'Caps struck first in the second inning on a two-run homer by Gold before adding another run in the fourth inning on an RBI double from Peyton Graham - taking the 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Whitecaps starting pitcher Jaden Hamm looked untouchable, tossing four scoreless innings with six punchouts. The Whitecaps exploded for seven runs in the fifth as Cole Turney, Gold, and Graham plated individual RBIs before Crouch delivered the grand slam - ballooning the lead to 10-0. The Whitecaps bullpen picked up where Hamm left off, as Connor Holden, Marco Jimenez, and Zack Hess combined for five scoreless frames with seven punchouts while West Michigan plated two runs in the ninth - featuring an RBI double off the bat of Peyton Graham - running away with the shutout victory.
Holden (2-0) earns his second win of the season, tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Loons starter Jackson Ferris (0-2) suffers his second loss of the year, allowing five runs - four earned - through 4.2 innings of work. West Michigan improves to 6-6 while the Loons fall to 6-6. Turney has been on a tear the past two games, going 8-for-10 with eight runs, three doubles, a homer, and three RBI - and is currently tied for second in batting average (.400) in the Midwest League. Whitecaps pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in their second shutout win - pacing the Midwest League with 134 punchouts this season. Turney produced a 4-for-5 performance for the second straight contest.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps move this six-game series against the Great Lakes Loons from Dow Diamond to Friday at 6:05 pm. Pitcher Dylan Smith and Jared Karros get the starts for West Michigan and Great Lakes. Tune into radio broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 5:50 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket,’ and 1340 WJRW-AM. Get your tickets for all 2024 home games now, or listen to games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.