LocalSportsJournal.com

FORT WAYNE, IN – The West Michigan Whitecaps watched Jake Holton hit his fifth homer of the week and another masterful performance by their pitching staff as part of an 8-0 shutout win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in front of 6,616 fans on Sunday afternoon at Parkview Field.  

Holton, who gave the Whitecaps their only run in a 1-0 Saturday victory with a solo homer to decide the contest, blasted an opposite-field homer to right field in the fifth inning. Holton, who entered the week with five career homers with West Michigan, doubled his career total in the span of one week.

Sunday’s win gives the Whitecaps a road series win for the first time this season and wins for West Michigan in 10 of their last 14 games.

The first inning saw the Whitecaps score their first run when Wenceel Perez delivered an RBI-single, collecting his team-high 27th RBI of the season and giving West Michigan a 1-0 lead.

The next few innings were controlled by starting pitcher, and Top-10 Detroit Tigers prospect Ty Madden, who tossed five scoreless frames while allowing just three hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts.

In the fourth, run-scoring singles by Ben Malgeri and Cooper Johnson extended the ‘Caps advantage to 3-0.

An inning later, Holton launched his fifth homer of the series and seventh of the season, a two-run shot giving him a total of ten RBI during the series against Fort Wayne.

After adding a run in the seventh, West Michigan added two more in the eighth on RBI-singles by Jose King and Colt Keith to end the scoring in the contest.

Madden (2-3) earned his second win of the season, while TinCaps starter Ryan Bergert (0-4) gave up three runs in 3.2 innings to take his fourth loss of 2022.

The Whitecaps record improves to 18-21, while Fort Wayne drops to 15-24.

The ‘Caps bullpen of Jack O’Loughlin, Ted Stuka, and Angel Reyes combined for four scoreless innings to finish the contest, giving the bullpen eight consecutive scoreless frames.

The back-to-back shutouts are the first since the Whitecaps swept the TinCaps in a doubleheader on July 15, 2021 – the second of which was the teams’ fourth no-hitter in franchise history. Joyce, Perez, and King each recorded a pair of hits in the victory.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps head home for a six-game series at LMCU Ballpark beginning Tuesday against the first-place Dayton Dragons at 6:05 pm.

Pitcher Keider Montero gets the start for the Whitecaps.

Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 5:50 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.