Fort Wayne Sweeps Doubleheader to End First Half
MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

Fort Wayne Sweeps Doubleheader to End First Half

Published on June 18, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


FORT WAYNE, Ind - The Fort Wayne TinCaps walked off the South Bend Cubs (Cubs affiliate) 4-3 in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader.

Fort Wayne (26-39) got five scoreless innings from right-hander Maikel Miralles in his 11th start of the campaign. Miralles gave up two hits in his second five-inning start of 2026 and the first at Parkview Field.

Right fielder Jake Cunningham hammered his 15th home run of the season in the sixth inning to tie the ball game. The blast registered at 114.2 mph off the bat and 464 feet over the left field wall, the longest recorded home run of the season, hit by a TinCap.

After neither team pushed a run across in the seventh, extra innings were forced for Fort Wayne for the second time this season. Catcher Lamar King Jr. (No. 14 Padres prospect) tied the contest up with an RBI single in the eighth, before Jack Costello finished the job with an RBI walk-off infield single to end the game.

It's the fourth walk-off winner for the TinCaps this season, and the second for Costello. The 25-year-old launched a walk-off home run on May 24 against Dayton, the first Fort Wayne walk-off blast since Joshua Mears did so on June 21, 2024, against Wisconsin.

South Bend (39-22) got its biggest hit of the game from catcher Justin Stransky with his two-run single in the sixth frame. Stransky reached in three of his four trips to the plate after going 1-for-4 with a single on Tuesday. Left-handed pitcher Cole Reynolds tossed four innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen in his first relief appearance of the season.

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TinCaps Complete Doubleheader Sweep to Conclude First Half

FORT WAYNE, Ind - The Fort Wayne TinCaps finished off a sweep in Thursday's doubleheader against the South Bend Cubs (Cubs affiliate) with a 5-2 win in game two.

Fort Wayne (27-39) got on the board first with a solo homer from right fielder Kavares Tears (No. 26 Padres prospect) in the second frame. Tears has homered five times in the last three series, having consecutive games with long balls in each of the last two sets.

The four-run sixth inning got the TinCaps ahead for good with a two-run double from Alex McCoy (No. 19 Padres prospect). McCoy finished the first half leading the Midwest League with 21 two-baggers. Left fielder Jake Cunningham drove in a pair one pitch later on a base hit. Righty Will Varmette got his second win of the season for Fort Wayne. He fired two hitless and scoreless innings while striking out a pair.

South Bend (39-23) third baseman Matt Halbach hit his sixth home run of the season and second of the series on a solo shot in the second inning. Halbach has two home runs and a pair of doubles this week in three games.

Next Game: Friday, June 19 vs. South Bend (7:05 p.m.)

- TinCaps Probable Starter: LHP Kash Mayfield (No. 4 Padres prospect)

- Cubs Probable Starter: RHP Koen Moreno

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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 June 18, 2026


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