'Caps Take Five of Six from Lansing in 13-1 Win
MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Take Five of Six from Lansing in 13-1 Win

June 15, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


LANSING, MI - Another day, another dominant performance from the West Michigan Whitecaps, who capped off their week in the state capital with an eight-run ninth inning as part of a 13-1 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,896 fans at Jackson Field.

The victory becomes West Michigan's 250th regular season win over their archrivals in franchise history, as they now hold an all-time mark of 250-235 with an 11-5 record in postseason contests. Another franchise record was broken in the rout, as Luke Gold slammed the Whitecaps' sixth grand slam of the season in the ninth inning, breaking the previous record of five set in 2022.

For the fifth time in this six-game series, the Whitecaps scored first when Josue Briceño, who missed the last six contests, returned to hit the first pitch he saw up the right-center field gap to score Kevin McGonigle from first base with an RBI double and give the 'Caps a 1-0 lead. After the Lugnuts tied the game at one in the second, both teams missed taking advantage of opportunities with the bases loaded in the early frames. The score remained the same until the fifth when John Peck helped the 'Caps break the 1-1 tie with a run-scoring single through a drawn-in infield to give West Michigan a 2-1 lead. The Whitecaps continued to add on with RBI singles from Max Clark and another from Peck as West Michigan extended its lead to 5-1. In the ninth, a two-run double from McGonigle helped extend the 'Caps advantage to 9-1 before Gold's grand slam put the finishing touches on a memorable week in Lansing.

The Whitecaps return home with a record of 43-20, while Lansing drops to 34-29. CJ Weins (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings out of the West Michigan bullpen in relief of starting pitcher Hayden Minton, who threw four frames of one-run baseball to get his second win. Lansing starter Corey Avant (3-3) took his third loss after giving up two runs in 4.2 innings. The Whitecaps had baserunners on all day long, leaving 14 runners on base and going 9-for-23 with runners in scoring position. Every West Michigan hitter had at least one base hit in the victory and finished with a total of 19 on Sunday - two days after each player in the 'Caps lineup enjoyed a multi-hit game in the 20-6 division-clinching win on Friday night.

UP NEXT

The Midwest League First-Half Eastern Division Champions return home for the first time since capturing their first postseason spot since 2018 for a six-game series to close the first and open the second half from LMCU Ballpark against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beginning Tuesday at 6:35 pm. Right-hander Max Alba is scheduled to get the start for the Whitecaps on the mound. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler begins 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.

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.

Check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Statistics



Midwest League Stories from June 15, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central