Lugs Wallow in 4-3 Wild Walk-Off over Whitecaps
June 11, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release
LANSING, Mich. - CJ Rodriguez rushed home on a Jared Dickey RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Lansing Lugnuts (34-25) walked off the West Michigan Whitecaps (39-20), 4-3, on Wednesday night at Jackson® Field™.
The Lugnuts pulled within five games of the Whitecaps for the East Division lead with seven games to play in the first half; the Caps' magic number remained at 3.
The ninth inning rally came via a series of West Michigan misadventures:
1) Micah Ashman struck out Rodney Green, Jr., but strike three escaped catcher Archer Brookman for a wild pitch, allowing Green to reach.
2) Rodriguez attempted to bunt Green in scoring position, but Ashman plunked him with a pitch instead.
3) Casey Yamauchi dropped a bunt down right back to Ashman, who aimed a throw for second and tossed it off of the sliding Rodriguez into center field, allowing Green to score the tying run.
4) After a strikeout of Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and an intentional walk to T.J. Schofield-Sam, Dickey sent a bouncer to the right side of the infield. First baseman Luke Gold cut it off, but threw to second base instead of trying to force out the lead runner at the plate. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle forced out Schofield-Sam, but found no one able to cover first as Rodriguez scored the game-winning run.
Lansing starting pitcher Jake Garland chased the hero with a water cooler between first and second, but the quicker Dickey dodged him, leaving Garland wiped out, drenched, and wallowing on the basepaths.
West Michigan had scored three runs against Garland with two outs in the first inning, capped by a Ben Malgeri two-run homer, but the Lugnuts right-hander responded by blanking the Whitecaps for the rest of his six innings - including double plays in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
A T.J. Schofield-Sam two-run double off Whitecaps starter Max Alba in the fifth inning supplied the game's only other scoring until the ninth. Schofield-Sam finished 3-for-4 to lift his league-leading batting average to .357.
Hunter Breault blanked the Whitecaps in the seventh inning before yielding to the debuting Jack Mahoney, whose contract had been purchased from the independent Staten Island FerryHawks on Monday.
In his A's organizational debut, the 6-foot-8 Mahoney struck out the first five batters he faced. Seth Stephenson broke the spell with a double, causing Lansing to turn to Henry Gómez for the final out in the top of the ninth, a first-pitch flyout from Gold.
That one pitch put Gómez in position to earn the win when the Lugnuts rallied for their fourth walk-off win of the season.
The Nuts go for two in a row against the Whitecaps on 90s Night / Western Michigan University Alumni Night / Coors Light Thirsty Thursday, with a Tank Jersey Giveaway to the first 1,000 fans. The pitching matchup is excellent: 19-year-old Steven Echavarria vs. West Michigan ace Andrew Sears. Gates open at 6 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. T ickets are available for purchase at the stadium box office, (517) 485-4500 or online at milb.com/lansing.
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