‘Caps Enjoy Biggest Crowd Since ’19 in Defeat
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – A 2025 season-high 9,049 fans were in attendance Saturday night as the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Lake County Captains 6-1 at LMCU Ballpark. The Whitecaps enjoyed their first sell-out crowd of 2025 - marking the biggest gathering West Michigan has seen since August 17,
COMSTOCK PARK, MI – A 2025 season-high 9,049 fans were in attendance Saturday night as the West Michigan Whitecaps fell to the Lake County Captains 6-1 at LMCU Ballpark.
The Whitecaps enjoyed their first sell-out crowd of 2025 - marking the biggest gathering West Michigan has seen since August 17, 2019, when 9,361 showed up to watch the Whitecaps take on these same Captains. Saturday's attendance total also marked the second-largest crowd in all of Minor League Baseball.
Captains catcher Johnny Tincher opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second before a pair of two-run homers from outfielder Alfonsin Rosario and Tincher in the following frame expanded their edge to 5-0. Meanwhile, Lake County starting pitcher Josh Hartle allowed just two base hits - a pair of singles from Whitecaps outfielder Austin Murr - through six innings pitched while registering five strikeouts, maintaining the 5-0 edge. West Michigan broke through in the seventh as Peyton Graham scored Josue Briceño on an RBI double, trimming the lead to 5-1. Lake County then added an insurance tally in the ninth inning as Esteban Gonzalez blooped an RBI single into left field, extending their advantage to 6-1. The Whitecaps put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth - but they couldn't convert - as Captains reliever Robert Wegielnik slammed the door with an inning-ending strikeout - sending West Michigan to the 6-1 loss.
The Captains improve to 28-28 on the season, while the Whitecaps fall to 38-18. Hartle (5-1) picks up his fifth win of the year while Wegielnik secures his third save - allowing one run through three innings with six punchouts. Whitecaps starter Rayner Castillo (1-3) suffers his third loss of the year - allowing five runs through three innings pitched. The Whitecaps magic number to clinch a spot in the Midwest League Playoffs remains at five games after the Lugnuts defeated the Dragons 3-1 in Dayton. Meanwhile, West Michigan finished 1-6 with runners in scoring position in the loss.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps and Captains conclude this series from LMCU Ballpark with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 pm. Pitcher Joe Miller, who picked up the win in the series opener last Tuesday, takes the mound for West Michigan against Matt ‘Tugboat’ Wilkinson for Lake County. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 1:45 pm on 106.1 FM ‘The Ticket’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Catch all the action on the radio or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.