COMSTOCK PARK, MI – Pitching dominated, but the bats fell silent as the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Fort Wayne TinCaps 2-0 in front of 4,868 fans Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
Whitecaps pitchers posted double-digit strikeouts for the second game in a row as Adam Wolf, Angel Reyes, and Jared Tobey allowed just two runs while striking out 11 Fort Wayne hitters. The Whitecaps, who won the first three games of this series, settle for a split after dropping the final three contests of the six-game set.
However, West Michigan finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 runners on base in the loss.
Wolf ended the first three innings with punchouts before allowing a bloop RBI-single from Chris Givin in the fourth, scoring Jonny Homza and delivering the TinCaps a 1-0 lead. West Michigan notched their first hit in the bottom of the fourth but couldn’t plate any runs, leaving a runner stranded on third before blowing a pair of bases-loaded opportunities in the fifth and eighth innings, keeping the lead at 1-0. In the ninth, Fort Wayne pushed across an insurance run as Reinaldo Ilarraza lifted a sacrifice fly to extend the TinCaps advantage to 2-0. Fort Wayne closer Kevin Kopps slammed the door in the ninth, setting down the side to secure the Fort Wayne victory.
Wolf (3-5) suffers his fifth defeat, allowing one run through five innings while striking out seven For Wayne hitters. In his second win, Luke Boyd (2-1) tossed 1.1 shutout innings as Kopps secured his first save of the 2021 season. The Fort Wayne TinCaps improve to 46-50 as the Whitecaps fall to 45-51. The ‘Caps are 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position over their last three games, compiling just two runs over that stretch.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps head to the State Capital for a six-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts from Jackson Field beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 pm. Righty Austin Bergner gets the start for West Michigan against the Lugnuts. 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.
