Whitecaps Serve Pankake in 7-5 Win

August 27, 2015 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - Joey Pankake doubled twice and scored two runs as the West Michigan Whitecaps scored early and often in a 7-5 win over the Lansing Lugnuts Thursday at Fifth Third Ballpark.

The Whitecaps scored the first three runs of this game in the early innings, as Will Kengor laced a run-scoring single to right in the second, and Christin Stewart tripled for the second consecutive game to plate Mike Gerber to take a 3-0 lead after three frames. After Lansing battled back with two runs in the fifth, West Michigan responded with three of their own as Pankake lifted a towering double high off the left-center field wall, and scored with Gerber on another RBI-single by Kengor to take a 6-2 lead. Arvicent Perez and Francisco Contreras also recorded RBI-singles in the victory before Lansing scored three runs over the games' final two innings.

Whitecaps starter A.J. Ladwig (11-9) allowed just one earned run in 6.1 solid innings on six hits to earn his team-best eleventh win. Chase Mallard (6-6) allowed six runs on a season-high 11 hits over five innings in suffering his sixth loss of 2015. The Whitecaps improve their record to 36-23 in the second half and a season-best 69-59 overall. The Lugnuts second half mark falls to 26-32, with a 68-60 record on the year. Pankake, Kengor, and Arvicent Perez led the Whitecaps 15-hit attack with three hits apiece in the contest. West Michigan's lead over South Bend and Lake County improves to seven games in the race for the Eastern Division wildcard, as both teams lost earlier in the evening. The Whitecaps magic number stands at five with eleven games left to play.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps continue this three-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts Friday night at 7pm. Jeff Thompson gets the starting nod for West Michigan against Starlyn Suriel for Lansing. If you can't make it to the ballpark, broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50pm. A reminder that season, group and individual tickets can be reserved for any 2015 home game by calling the Whitecaps' front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from August 27, 2015

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