'Caps Double-up Fort Wayne, 8-4

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MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Double-up Fort Wayne, 8-4

May 16, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, IN - The West Michigan Whitecaps enjoyed the services of a major league addition, as Detroit Tigers outfielder and four-year 'Caps alum Wenceel Perez rejoined the club as part of an 8-4 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 5,859 fans at Parkview Field on Friday night.

Perez, who played with the 'Caps from 2018 to 2022 and enjoyed his best season in '22 with nine homers and 38 RBI in 55 games, went 2-for-2 with a single, double, and run scored. With the win, the Whitecaps lead in the Midwest League Eastern Division moves to three games over the Lansing Lugnuts, who lost in ten innings to the South Bend Cubs on Friday by a score of 12-8.

West Michigan took the early lead by scoring first for the fourth straight game of this series when Perez stroked a double and took third base on a fielding error by TinCaps centerfielder Nerwillian Cedeno before Jack Penney drove him home with a run-scoring single. Fort Wayne answered in the bottom of the frame when Rosman Verdugo tied the game with an RBI-single of his own to knot the contest at one. In the second, Andrew Jenkins slammed his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead. The score remained the same until the seventh inning when Abel Bastidas lined a two-run double into the right field corner to extend the lead to 4-1. One inning later, Luke Gold repeated the effort with a two-run two-bagger of his own to give the 'Caps a five-run lead at 6-1.

Meanwhile, West Michigan pitcher Max Alba spun four spectacular scoreless frames while striking out a career-high seven TinCaps hitters. In the ninth, an RBI-Double by Penney and a run-scoring single from John Peck pushed the 'Caps lead to 8-1. Fort Wayne plated three runs in the ninth, but it was too little too late, as the 'Caps guaranteed a series split and had two chances to win the series in games over the weekend with the 8-4 win.

The Whitecaps improve to 24-13, while the TinCaps fall to 20-17. Alba (1-2) gets his first win of the season, while TinCaps starter Miguel Mendez (1-1) allowed two runs in three innings in taking a tough-luck loss. Jenkins finshed the contest going 3-for-5 to lead the offense, while his fourth home run of the season doubles his Whitecaps total over the past two seasons combined (2) in just 27 games.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps play the penultimate contest of this series on Saturday night, beginning at 6:35 pm. Lefty Andrew Sears takes the mound for West Michigan against Isaiah Lowe for Fort Wayne. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 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.

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