Time Runs Out on ‘Caps, 20-11
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – In one of the longest nine-inning contests in team history, the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Lake County Captains 20-11 in front of 6,389 fans Tuesday night at LMCU Ballpark. The gametime marks the second-longest nine-inning home contest in Whitecaps history—falling two minutes shy of
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – In one of the longest nine-inning contests in team history, the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Lake County Captains 20-11 in front of 6,389 fans Tuesday night at LMCU Ballpark.
The gametime marks the second-longest nine-inning home contest in Whitecaps history—falling two minutes shy of the Whitecaps 8-3 loss to the Lansing Lugnuts that finished in 4:04 on July 20, 2021. It is also the third-longest nine-inning game in franchise history, with the longest being 4:12 against the Dayton Dragons on July 8, 2021.
Both teams combined for nine runs in the third inning, as Lake County scored five — highlighted by a bases-clearing double from infielder Dean Curley — before West Michigan answered with four in the bottom half. A two-run double by catcher Ricardo Hurtado trimmed the lead to one, 5-4. The Captains added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before West Michigan took the lead with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Hurtado put the 'Caps ahead with a two-run single to make it 8-7. The Captains exploded for eight runs in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs on home runs from outfielder Aaron Walton and infielder Jeffrey Mercedes before an RBI double from Woody Hadeen made it 15-9. While the Whitecaps added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Captains had one more big swing, as infielder Nolan Schubart launched a grand slam to put the finishing touches on the 20-11 loss.
Whitecaps reliever Ryan Harvey (2-3) suffered his third defeat, allowing five runs (four earned) in one inning pitched. Meanwhile, Captains reliever Luis Flores (1-1) earned his first win, allowing two runs through 1.1 innings while recording three strikeouts. Furthermore, 20 runs tie the most in a single game in Lake County Captains history. Tuesday’s contest is also believed to have tied the franchise record for most combined runs in a game of 31, set on August 8, 2010, when the 'Caps defeated the Dayton Dragons at home by a score of 21-10. The Whitecaps also used multiple position players to pitch in the contest, as both outfielder Caleb Shpur and infielder Cristian Santana retired hitters from the mound, including Santana’s inning-ending strikeout of the Captains Welbyn Francisca in the ninth.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series against the Lake County Captains – Midwest League affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night at 6:35pm. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’, and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.