EASTLAKE, OH – The West Michigan Whitecaps played a tight game on Sunday afternoon but ended up on the losing end of a 4-3 loss to the Lake County Captains in 12 innings on Sunday at Classic Park.
The loss becomes the third time this week that Lake County walked off with a victory and gave the Captains four out of the six games of their series at Classic Park. Sunday marks the longest game the Whitecaps have played in terms of innings this season with 12.
The Whitecaps jumped all over Captains starter Mason Hickman with a pair of first-inning runs. Andrew Navigato’s RBI-single and a run-scoring double by Daniel Cabrera staked West Michigan to a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, the Captains plated a run on an RBI-single by Raynel Delgado before each team traded runs an inning later. In the sixth, the ‘Caps plated Parker Meadows on a throwing error by catcher Joe Donovan before Lake County snuck home a run during a rundown that ended the frame. In the eighth, Captains outfielder Quintin Holmes was called safe trying to steal second base by base umpire Bobby Tassone and scored on a run-scoring groundout by George Valera to tie the game. The game advanced to extra innings and remained tied until Julian Escobedo ended the contest with a walk-off single in the 12th.
Captain reliever Kevin Kelly (3-4) tossed two scoreless relief innings to notch his third win, while Chris Mauloni (0-1) suffered a tough-luck loss despite a pair of outstanding frames out of the bullpen. The Whitecaps record moves to 42-48, while Lake County improves to 48-42. West Michigan had a lead in each of the four games they fell to the Captains and left a runner in scoring position in each of the last five innings.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps travel home for a six-game series against the Fort Wayne TinCaps from LMCU Ballpark beginning Tuesday at 7:05 pm. Lefty Adam Wolf gets the start for West Michigan against fellow southpaw Noel Vela. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2021 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
