Dobbins, Pennington Go Deep in Defeat
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps and Great Lakes Loons exchanged blows in a game that featured four combined home runs, but a four-run third inning proved too much to overcome in a 9–4 loss Saturday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark. ‘Caps catcher Hunter Dobbins hit the second home
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – The West Michigan Whitecaps and Great Lakes Loons exchanged blows in a game that featured four combined home runs, but a four-run third inning proved too much to overcome in a 9–4 loss Saturday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
‘Caps catcher Hunter Dobbins hit the second home run of his professional career—a two-run shot—while first baseman Garrett Pennington added his second of the season. However, Whitecaps pitchers allowed four runs in the third inning on the strength of four hits, while the offense struggled to capitalize, going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the loss.
Great Lakes got on the board in the first inning on an RBI single from Jose Meza before Whitecaps outfielder Roberto Campos responded with an RBI single, tying the game at one. The Loons then rallied for four runs in the third, highlighted by a solo home run from shortstop Jose Izarra before catcher Victor Rodrigues followed with a two-run single to take a 5–1 lead. The Loons added three insurance runs across the fifth and sixth innings, featuring a two-run double from infielder Cameron Decker, extending the lead to 8–1. West Michigan chipped away with three runs across the seventh and eighth innings, as both Dobbins and Pennington went deep, but it was too late, as the Whitecaps dropped their third straight game.
Whitecaps starting pitcher Rayner Castillo (0–2) suffered his second loss, allowing five runs over 2.1 innings pitched, while Loons reliever Dilan Figueredo (1–0) picked up his first win, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. The Whitecaps suffered their third straight loss for the first time since dropping three consecutive games against the Lake County Captains at LMCU Ballpark from June 6–8 last season.
UP NEXT
The ‘Caps wrap up this six-game series against the Great Lakes Loons on Sunday at 2:00pm. Pitchers Christian Zazueta and Gabriel Reyes get the starts for Great Lakes and West Michigan. Broadcast coverage with Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:45 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.
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