Whitecaps Keep Postseason Hopes Alive, Beat Loons 4-1

Comstock Park, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (75-54) (30-34) were outpitched by the West Michigan Whitecaps (67-61) (35-28), who keep their playoff chances alive with a 4-1 victory on a 66-degree partly cloudy Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.

Entering the night, the Whitecaps trailed the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a half-game in the Midwest League East Division standings with three games left. West Michigan and Fort Wayne were victorious, meaning a TinCaps win and Whitecaps loss tomorrow seals it for Fort Wayne.

If the TinCaps lose once over the next two, the Whitecaps need to win out to make the postseason. If Fort Wayne loses twice, West Michigan only needs one win in the next two. The first-place finisher faces Great Lakes in the playoffs beginning Tuesday, September 12th.

West Michigan’s starter Carlos Pena went six scoreless innings. The left-hander retired the final seven batters he faced. The Loons' best chance came in the fourth. With Griffin Lockwood-Powell at first base, Damon Keith popped one up that bounced fair on the right side of the infield dirt. Pena forced a flyout to center to end the inning and picked up his defense after the miscommunication.

Maddux Bruns went three innings for Great Lakes; the only run permitted was unearned. A throwing error from the third baseman and passed ball put Andrew Jenkins at third base. Jenkins was plated by Josh Crouch's RBI groundout.

Lucas Wepf struck out two in a 1-2-3 fifth inning. In the sixth, Gage Workman singled off Wepf, stole both second and third base, and scored on an Andrew Jenkins RBI single. Luke Gold distanced the Whitecaps with a two-run home run in the eighth inning. Mitchell Tyranski induced three groundouts to finish two innings out of the bullpen.

Down 4-0 in the top of the ninth, the Loons did not go down without a fight. Griffin Lockwood-Powell doubled up the right-field line, and Damon Keith followed that with an RBI double to left field. Keith was stranded on third; the Loons stranded seven runners on base.

With a series tied at two, game five is tomorrow Saturday, September 9th. The first pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.