Fort Wayne Drops Fourth Straight Contest
MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

Fort Wayne Drops Fourth Straight Contest

Published on July 9, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. - The Fort Wayne TinCaps lost Thursday night's game 8-5 against the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers affiliate) at LMCU Ballpark.

Fort Wayne (34-50, 7-11) got their first run in the fifth inning on a double from Ryan Wideman (No. 7 Padres prospect). Wideman has a knock in 11 of his 13 games with the TinCaps since joining the team two weeks ago, and Thursday marked his third multi-hit game in High-A following his single in the ninth frame.

The TinCaps scored a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings, with Rosman Verdugo and Jack Costello coming through with two outs in the eighth. Verdugo laced his first triple of the campaign to score Justin DeCriscio. Costello's base hit gives him 38 runs batted in this season and a knock in eight of his last nine showings.

West Michigan (35-47, 11-7) picked up two more homers in their dominant start at the dish in the first half of this series. Center fielder Jackson Strong (No. 25 Tigers prospect) launched a two-run shot in the second inning for his ninth homer of the season. First baseman Cristian Santana followed suit with a leadoff round-tripper in the sixth frame in his series debut.

Right fielder Steven Hrustich finished the evening 3-for-4 with a trio of singles, giving him a hit in every game this week. It is the first three-hit game in High-A for Hrustich; the last time he accomplished the feat was on Aug. 10 last season for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in Single-A.

Right-handed pitcher Lucas Elissalt (No. 16 Tigers prospect) got the start for the Whitecaps and struck out a season-high seven batters, allowing one unearned run across 4 1/3 innings pitched. Thomas Bruss earned his third win of the season, not allowing a baserunner in 1 1/3 innings of relief following Elissalt.

Next Game: Friday, July 10 @ West Michigan (6:35 p.m.)

- TinCaps Probable Starter: RHP Abraham Parra

- WhiteCaps Probable Starter: RHP Carlos Marcano

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Listen: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM | TinCaps.com/Broadcasts

Tickets: TinCaps.com/Tickets

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Midwest League Stories from July 9, 2026


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