Whitecaps Within One Game of Postseason After 7-1 Win
June 12, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
LANSING, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps are officially one game away from making the postseason for the first time since 2018, thanks to a 7-1 win over the Lansing Lugnuts in front of 6,364 fans at Jackson Field.
The Whitecaps, with six games remaining in the first half of the 2025 season, have a six-game lead over the second-place Lansing Lugnuts but need either one more win or Lansing loss over the final six contests to clinch their first postseason trip in eight years. The top three hitters in the Whitecaps lineup led the charge as outfielders Ben Malgeri and Max Clark, along with infielder Kevin McGonigle, combined to give the 'Caps seven of its eight base hits while combining to go 7-for-11 with seven runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, and three walks.
The contest began with a bang when Malgeri blasted his second home run in as many days to lead off the ballgame, a 433-foot shot highlighting a successful start to his Minor League Rehab Assignment and giving West Michigan a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, back-to-back doubles from McGonigle and Clark tacked on another run before Peyton Graham lifted a sacrifice fly to expand the lead to 3-0 after the first half-inning for the second consecutive night. In the third, McGonigle lined a solo home run down the right field line at 112 mph, putting the Whitecaps on top by a score of 4-0. In the fifth, the 'Caps plated two more in a frame highlighted by a run-scoring double from McGonigle in his third of four hits on the night. In the seventh, the 'Caps added their final run when McGonigle scored from third base on an errant pickoff throw to first. A passed ball with two outs in the ninth helped Lansing score their only run and spoil the shutout, but the 'Caps finished the job to pick up their second win in the three games of this series and move to the doorstep of the 2025 postseason.
The Whitecaps record jumps to 40-20, while Lansing drops to 34-26. Starting pitcher Andrew Sears (4-2) was magnificent, twirling five innings of scoreless baseball while striking out five in becoming the first West Michigan starting pitcher to collect four wins on the season. Lugnuts starter and Athletics No. 13 prospect Steven Echavarria (2-3) allowed six runs in four innings in suffering his third loss. McGonigle reached base in all five of his plate appearances and finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in his second four-hit game of the season.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps look to clinch a postseason spot as this six-game series from Jackson Field against the Lansing Lugnuts continues Friday at 7:05 pm. 20-year-old righty Rayner Castillo looks to get things back on track on the mound against the Lugnuts Nathan Detmer. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 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.
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