Whitecaps Clinch Best MWL First-Half in 3-2 Win
June 14, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
LANSING, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps kept their laser focus a day after clinching the Midwest League Eastern Division, riding a dominant performance by their bullpen to a 3-2 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 7,896 fans at Jackson Field.
Relievers Colin Fields, Micah Ashman, and Preston Howey worked the final four innings of scoreless baseball to help West Michigan clinch a series win for the second time this season and the best first-half record in the Midwest League. Through the five games of this series, the Whitecaps bullpen has allowed just two earned runs in 20.2 innings of work - good for an ERA of 0.87 for the series.
The Whitecaps struck first, as they have in all but one of the five games of this series, when Luke Gold delivered a run-scoring single to give West Michigan a 1-0 lead. The game went back and forth over the subsequent frames, as Lansing third baseman Tommy White knotted the game at one with an RBI double. In the third, Andrew Jenkins helped the 'Caps retake the lead with a run-scoring single. In the fourth, Peyton Graham added a run with a single to extend the lead to 3-1. A passed ball by catcher Bennett Lee in the bottom of the frame trimmed the 'Caps lead to 3-2, but starting pitcher Joe Miller worked out of big trouble in his later innings before the Whitecaps bullpen did the rest on their way to a third straight victory.
The Whitecaps record improves to 42-20, while Lansing falls to 34-28. Miller (4-2) tossed five innings and allowed two runs to join fellow lefty Andrew Sears as the first Whitecaps starting pitchers to win their fourth game of the season. Luke Gold led the Whitecaps at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. The Whitecaps now lead the Midwest League in all three major statistical categories of pitching with a 2.93 team ERA, hitting, with a collective batting average of.261, and a defensive fielding percentage of .979.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps conclude their final road trip of the 2025 first half and this six-game series from Jackson Field against the Lansing Lugnuts on Sunday at 1:05 pm. Righties Hayden Minton and Corey Avant get the starts for the 'Caps and Lugnuts. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 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.
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