'Caps Collect 50th Win in Lake County

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MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Collect 50th Win in Lake County

June 27, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


EASTLAKE, OH - The West Michigan Whitecaps got home runs from Austin Murr, Peyton Graham, and Kevin McGonigle as part of an 8-4 win over the Lake County Captains on Friday night at Classic Park.

The Whitecaps plated at least one run in four consecutive innings en route to notching their 50th win of the 2025 season, becoming the first Midwest League team to accomplish the feat this season. The home runs from Murr and Graham came in a back-to-back fashion, marking the first time the 'Caps have hit consecutive homers since Max Clark and Jack Penney accomplished the feat on May 9 against the Lansing Lugnuts.

Friday's contest didn't see its first run until the third inning when Lake County second baseman Christian Knapczyk launched an opposite-field home run, his sixth of the season, to open the scoring and give the Captains a 1-0 lead. Lake County's lead was short-lived, as Murr and Graham posted their back-to-back homers in the fourth to send the lead to West Michigan by a score of 3-1. The Captains tied the game in the bottom of the frame when Knapczyk roped an RBI double to knot the contest at three. Again, the game tilted back towards West Michigan almost immediately when McGonigle blasted his seventh home run of the season and second of the series to help the 'Caps retake the lead at 4-3. West Michigan blew the contest open with a trio of insurance tallies highlighted by run-scoring singles from John Peck and Murr to extend the lead to 8-3 and send the Whitecaps well on their way to their 50th win of 2025.

The Whitecaps jump to 50-22 and 6-1 in the second half, while the Captains fall to 38-35 and 3-4 in the back half of 2025. Reliever Preston Howey (5-1) tossed a pair of scoreless innings to collect his fifth win of the season, while Captain starter Matt Wilkinson (2-8) gave up four runs in 4.2 frames in taking his eighth loss of the season. Peyton Graham led the 'Caps as one of four players to achieve a multi-hit game by going 3-for-5 and a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. The contest also saw an incredible catch made by center fielder Seth Stephenson to rob Esteban Gonzalez to begin the bottom of the sixth.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps and Lake County Captains play the penultimate game of this six-game series from Eastlake on Saturday at 7 pm. Pitchers Hayden Minton and Jackson Humphries take the mound for the Whitecaps and Captains. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:45 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.

PLAYOFF PLANS

The 'Caps will host a playoff game the second week of September, tentatively scheduled for Thursday the 11th at 6:35 pm against the second-half Midwest League Eastern Division champion. Individual tickets will go on sale July 8 at 10:00 am on whitecapsbaseball.com.

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Midwest League Stories from June 27, 2025


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