Whitecaps Sweep Loons in Twinbill, Ferris’ K’s 11 in Game One

MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons (40-40) (6-8) tallied only one earned run over 15 innings against the West Michigan Whitecaps (41-40) (10-5) dropping both games of a doubleheader 2-0 and 5-3 on a 74-degree Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at Dow Diamond.

Game One – Whitecaps 2, Loons 0 – 8 innings

- Jackson Ferris had the best start of his affiliated baseball career. Ferris was unflappable, striking out 11 batters over seven innings. The 20-year-old worked five 1-2-3 frames and only permitted two hits. He was the first Loon in 2024 to go seven.

- West Michigan pitching wasn’t as dominant but held serve. Max Alba stranded two in the first. Joe Miller worked four scoreless frames, and Yosber Sanchez secured the win with two clean innings. Great Lakes left seven on base.

- In the eighth, facing Michael Martinez, the Whitecaps plated two runs. Patrick Lee singled putting runners on the corners. Danny Serretti brought the first across with a sacrifice fly. Lee then stole third and then snuck home on a passed ball.

- Kyle Nevin, who had the only extra-base hit for the Loons, walked to begin the eighth. The next three went down in order. Marco Jimenez struck out the last two he faced.

Game Two – Whitecaps 5, Loons 3 – 7 innings

- Great Lakes took advantage of a West Michigan error, scoring two runs in the third. Noah Miller and Dylan Campbell singled. Then Kyle Nevin grounded one to third that was booted into left field. With the next batter up, Nevin took off for second allowing Campbell to score before Nevin was tagged out.

- Jose Rodriguez didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings. He walked two of the first three he faced in the top of the fourth. Then in a seven-pitch battle, Patrick Lee doubled off the centerfield wall, to tie the game.

- Sam Mongelli mashed his second homer of the series, to start the bottom of the fourth. Going 406 feet and 102 off the bat, Mongelli has homered twice when batting cleanup this season, Wednesday and tonight.

- The Whitecaps tallied three runs in the sixth off Garrett McDaniels. Luis Santana singled to put two on and one out. Luke Gold followed up with an RBI single and then Patrick Lee knocked a two-run double.

- Two Great Lakes batters walked in the seventh but were both left on to end the game.

Rounding Things Out

Jackson Ferris is the first Loon to go seven innings since Jose Chacin went eight on June 30th, 2019, against Fort Wayne.

Up Next

The next two days are off for the Loons. The next series begins Tuesday, July 9th, a six-game home set against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The first pitch on Tuesday is at 7:05 pm. It is a Hometown Heroes night presented by Meijer with active-duty military, veterans, first responders, and frontline healthcare workers getting a free meal on us.

The Great Lakes Loons have been 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 Sports Radio 100.9 The Mitt. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.