Whitecaps Win Sixth Straight, 11-7
EASTLAKE, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps enjoyed one of their biggest offensive outputs of the season as Roberto Campos, Dom Johnson, and Seth Stephenson put on a show, outlasting the Lake County Captains in an 11-7 slugfest victory Tuesday evening at Classic Auto Group Park. Stephenson, Johnson, and Campos
EASTLAKE, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps enjoyed one of their biggest offensive outputs of the season as Roberto Campos, Dom Johnson, and Seth Stephenson put on a show, outlasting the Lake County Captains in an 11-7 slugfest victory Tuesday evening at Classic Auto Group Park.
Stephenson, Johnson, and Campos totaled eight RBIs in the contest, going a combined 12-for-16 with five runs scored, three doubles, and Stephenson’s second home run of the year – a three-run blast.
The ‘Caps delivered the first blow with a two-run double from Campos in the top of the first inning before Lake County responded in the bottom of the second, as a fielding error by Izaac Pacheco allowed Jose Devers to cross the plate, trimming the Whitecaps lead to 2-1. Both teams traded individual tallies in the third as ‘Caps designated hitter Luis Santana lifted a solo homer before an RBI single from Captains catcher Cooper Ingle cut the lead to 3-2. Campos highlighted a three-run top of the fourth with his second two-run double, but the Captains continued chipping away, adding a tally in the bottom half with an RBI double from Maick Collado, 6-3.
‘Caps left fielder Seth Stephenson continued the offensive onslaught in the top of the fifth, delivering a three-run home run, while Lake County continued to fight back with an additional two runs in the bottom half – featuring an RBI single from Guy Lipscomb – bringing the ‘Caps lead to 9-5. Both teams traded runs again in the sixth, as Luke Gold crossed the plate on an RBI groundout by Pacheco before Jake Fox struck for an RBI double. West Michigan scored a final insurance tally in the seventh with Stephenson’s fourth RBI of the game, while Fox delivered a lone RBI in the eighth – but it was too late – as ‘Caps closer Gabe Sequeira tossed a scoreless ninth in his return to the Whitecaps after being activated from the injured list earlier in the day, putting the finishing touches on the win.
The Whitecaps improve to 21-19 while the Captains fall to 22-18. ‘Caps reliever Marco Jimenez (1-1) secures his first win of the year, allowing one run through 1.1 innings on the mound, while Captains starter Juan Zapata (0-4) suffers his fourth loss, giving up four runs through 3.1 innings. The Whitecaps have a season-best six-game winning streak and are two games above .500 for the first time this year – sitting just one game out of first place in the Midwest League East Division. Stephenson enjoys the first four-RBI game of his professional career while Campos delivers his second. Meanwhile, Johnson finished the game 5-for-5 with a pair of runs scored – his first five-hit performance as a professional as he becomes the second Whitecap hitter to do so since Max Anderson finished 5-for-6 in a 13-11 tenth-inning victory over the Dayton Dragons on May 1.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series against the Lake County Captains Wednesday night at 6:35pm. Pitchers Carlos Marcano and Trenton Denholm 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.