Fish Fry's Suffer Second Straight Loss to Begin 2026 Season, Fall to Whitecaps, 6-4
MWL Lake County Captains

Fish Fry's Suffer Second Straight Loss to Begin 2026 Season, Fall to Whitecaps, 6-4

Published on April 3, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Lake County Captains News Release


EASTLAKE, Ohio - In the second game of a scheduled three-game series, the Lake County Fish Fry's (0-2) fell to the West Michigan Whitecaps (2-0) by a final score of 6-4 on Thursday night at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

Friday night marked the first time in history that Lake County suited up as its newest alternate identity, the Lake County Fish Fry's. The team will also do so on Saturday, July 11 versus Lansing.

The Fish Fry's struck first in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of RBI singles from SS Dean Curley, MLB Pipeline's No. 13 Cleveland prospect, and RF Esteban González. These two hits drove in Lake County's first two runs of the 2026 campaign and gave the Fish Fry's a 2-0 lead through three innings.

West Michigan was held to just one hit through the first six innings of the contest, thanks in large part to a terrific outing from Lake County LHP Jackson Humphries (ND). In his first start of the year, the southpaw worked four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, while throwing seven strikeouts in 59 pitches (39 strikes).

But the Whitecaps took their first lead of the night with a four-run surge in the top of the seventh inning. Fish Fry's RHP Jogly García (ND) permitted a game-tying two-run single from West Michigan LF Patrick Lee and a sacrifice fly from SS Woody Hadeen. Lake County RHP Cam Schuelke (ND) then entered the game and surrendered an infield single from CF Roberto Campos. The Fish Fry's right-hander fielded a high-bouncing ground ball and threw the ball to first base, but nobody was covering the bag, resulting in a throwing error that allowed another Whitecaps run to score.

Lake County immediately answered with two runs in the home half of the seventh frame to tie the game. DH Jaison Chourio, MLB Pipeline's No. 11 Guardians prospect, lined an RBI double to right field, and CF Aaron Walton, MLB Pipeline's No. 18 Guardians prospect, recorded a game-tying RBI single for his first career High-A hit and RBI.

West Michigan eventually scored the final two runs of the night, with a go-ahead sacrifice fly from Lee in the top of the eighth inning off of Fish Fry's LHP Luis Flores (L, 0-1) ultimately proving to be the game-winner. But the Whitecaps added a key insurance run in the following frame thanks to a two-out solo home run from 1B Garrett Pennington off of Fish Fry's LHP Izaak Martinez (ND).

Lake County put the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Chourio hit his second straight double and Curley drew a walk. But a strikeout from Walton and a groundout from LF Ryan Cesarini finally ended the game.

West Michigan RHP Ryan Harvey (W, 1-0; BS, 1) earned the win, allowing two runs on two hits in two innings of relief, striking out two and walking one. RHP Duque Hebbert (S, 1) recorded the save, working a scoreless ninth inning out of the Whitecaps bullpen.

West Michigan RHP Lucas Elissalt (ND), MLB Pipeline's No. 18 Tigers prospect, did not record a decision in his first start of the year. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in three innings of work, striking out four and walking two.

The finale of this week's scheduled three-game season-opening series between the Captains and Whitecaps is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, April 4, at 1 p.m. Lake County will host an Egg Hunt with pregame festivities and surprises throughout the ballpark. The game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, the MiLB App, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

Notes to Know

- OF Jaison Chourio logged two doubles and a walk on Friday night. The 20-year-old owns a .444 on-base percentage, .571 slugging percentage, and 1.015 OPS through his first two games of the season.

- LHP Jackson Humphries threw seven strikeouts on Friday night. This performance marked his third career start for Lake County with at least seven strikeouts, joining his May 30, 2025 outing at Cedar Rapids (seven strikeouts) and his Aug. 1, 2025 performance at Wisconsin (eight strikeouts).

- INF Dean Curley went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a walk on Friday night. The 2025 second-round pick out of Tennessee owns a .333 batting average and .556 on-base percentage through his first two career High-A games.

Check out the Lake County Captains Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from April 3, 2026


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