'Caps Drop Heartbreaker in 10, Swept in Cedar Rapids
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Drop Heartbreaker in 10, Swept in Cedar Rapids

Published on May 3, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The West Michigan Whitecaps were unable to hold a pair of late leads as part of their eighth straight loss, falling 6-5 in ten innings to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

West Michigan, who lost a pair of five-run leads twice in the series, lost a three-run advantage in the ninth inning on Sunday, leading to a Kernels walk-off win for the third time in the set. The 'Caps are swept in a six-game series for the first time since the institution of the six-game format in 2021, while their eight-game losing streak is their longest losing skid since 2019, when they dropped nine in a row in early June of that season.

Sunday's game entered the sixth inning tied at one before back-to-back doubles by Garrett Pennington and Bryce Rainer, and a run-scoring single by Juan Hernandez gave West Michigan a 3-1 lead. In the eighth, the Whitecaps scored what appeared to be an insurance run when Clayton Campbell blasted a solo home run to right-center field to extend the lead to 4-1. In the ninth, reliever Carlos Lequerica's first pitch of the afternoon was blasted by catcher Eduardo Tait for a solo home run to trim the 'Caps lead to 4-2. Later in the frame, a throwing error on a double steal attempt allowed a second run to score before Rayne Doncon's two-out, game-tying RBI Single evened the score at four. In the tenth, a pair of wild pitches by Kernels righty Cole Peschl allowed Rainer to score a go-ahead run and give West Michigan a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of the frame, a 'Caps fielding error resulted in the Kernels collecting the tying run for the second straight frame before Danny De Andrade, whose walk-off home run won the first game of this series, drove a game-winning RBI Single to left field to give Cedar Rapids the stunning victory and six-game sweep.

The Whitecaps record drops to 12-15, while the Kernels climb over the .500 mark at 14-13. Peschl (1-0) collects the win in relief after allowing an unearned run in two innings, while Ryan Harvey (1-1) gets the loss for the 'Caps after allowing the tying and winning runs to score in the tenth. Over the course of the six-game series, the Whitecaps went just 13-for-68 (.191) with runners in scoring position. Last season, the Whitecaps swept their six-game series during the regular season before pulling off a sweep in the postseason to win their seventh Midwest League Championship.

UP NEXT

The 'Caps return home for a six-game series against the Dayton Dragons beginning Tuesday night at 6:35pm. J.P. Ortiz gets the start for Dayton against the Whitecaps Hayden Minton. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20pm 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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Midwest League Stories from May 3, 2026


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