'Caps Blast Past Lake County, 8-4
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Blast Past Lake County, 8-4

Published on June 10, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


EASTLAKE, OH - A pair of late-inning home runs by Garrett Pennington and Jackson Strong helped lift the West Michigan Whitecaps to an 8-4 win over the Lake County Captains on Wednesday afternoon at Classic Park.

The Whitecaps, who never trailed in the contest, saved their best swings for last when Pennington blew the contest open with a three-run blast in the seventh before Jackson Strong sent out a two-run shot in the ninth for his fourth home run in five days, sending the 'Caps to a 4-1 record in their last five games.

The Whitecaps commanded this one from the start when they enjoyed some offense from the bottom of their lineup to begin the scoring, with Juan Hernandez and Caleb Shpur collecting RBI Singles to put West Michigan ahead by a score of 2-0. After the Captains plated a run in the fourth, the 'Caps took it right back with back-to-back doubles by Woody Hadeen and Strong in the fifth to jump ahead, 3-1. The Whitecaps' biggest swing came in the seventh when Pennington became the first 'Caps player with double-figure home runs, when he deposited a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field wall for his tenth home run of the season to push the West Michigan advantage to 6-2. Trailing 6-2 in the eighth, Captains outfielder Nolan Schubart clobbered a two-run homer for the second day in a row to trim the 'Caps lead to 6-4, but Strong countered in the ninth with a two-run blast of his own, ending the scoring and sending the Whitecaps to a Wednesday win.

The Whitecaps improve to 21-38 in the first half, while the Captains fall to 33-25. Zack Lee (2-2) tossed two scoreless innings to collect his second win of the year, while Captains starter Michael Kennedy (5-3) took his third loss despite only giving up two runs in four frames. Detroit Tigers Top-10 Prospect Ben Jacobs started on the mound for West Michigan, pitching around four walks in four innings to surrender only one run while striking out six. Strong, Shpur, and first baseman Clayton Campbell each had a pair of hits for the 'Caps in the victory.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps move this six-game series against the Lake County Captains to its third game on Thursday, as we get back to an evening schedule from Classic Park at 7:00pm. Pitchers Lucas Elissalt and Rafe Schlesinger, both Top-30 Prospects in the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians farm systems, get the calls on the mound. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:45pm on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket', and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, or listen to all the action on whitecapsbaseball.com.

Check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Statistics

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