TinCaps ReCap: Doubleheader split at West Michigan

Fort Wayne took the victory in the first game, 7-4, but the West Michigan Whitecaps won the second game, 6-1, on Thursday evening at LMCU Ballpark.

Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:

TinCaps Split Doubleheader at West Michigan
By Derek Decker

Comstock Park, Michigan (July 27, 2023) – TinCaps second baseman Graham Pauley (No. 30 Padres prospect) smashed a go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to lift Fort Wayne to victory in the first game, 7-4, but the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers affiliate) won the second game, 6-1, on Thursday evening at LMCU Ballpark.

The first contest of the doubleheader was the completion of a game that was suspended in the third inning because of rain on Wednesday. The second was a seven-inning affair.

In game one, Fort Wayne (16-11, 48-45) first baseman Nathan Martorella (No. 23 Padres prospect) and shortstop Nerwilian Cedeño (No. 12 Padres prospect) each had a pair of hits, including a double.

Catcher Colton Bender knocked in the first run of the game, prior to the suspension on Wednesday, in the second inning with a sacrifice fly, giving the TinCaps the lead, 1-0.

West Michigan (12-15, 44-48) tied the game quickly in the bottom of the frame on catcher Josh Crouch’s RBI single.

In the fifth, Fort Wayne regained the lead on center fielder Jakob Marsee’s (No. 22 Padres prospect) sacrifice fly, making it a 2-1 game. Then the TinCaps added to their lead in the sixth when third baseman Carlos Luis smoked a fly ball to right, which scored two more.

The Whitecaps came charging back, scoring twice in the sixth and eventually tying the game again in the seventh on shortstop Gage Workman (No. 27 Tigers prospect) hit a run-scoring single, leveling the contest, 4-4.

But Pauley played hero in the ninth, homering for the seventh time in his first 22 games in High-A. His blast came after both Joshua Mears (No. 14 Padres prospect) and Marsee walked.

Reliever Ethan Routzahn worked the final three innings, earning the win while allowing only one run and striking out five.

In the second game, Cedeño and shortstop Kervín Pichardo had two-hit performances, but West Michigan came out hot and built a big early lead.

After center fielder Roberto Campos (No. 12 Tigers prospect) singled to score the first run in the second inning, the Whitecaps exploded for four runs in the third, including back-to-back homers by catcher Eliezer Alfonzo and Workman, and the Whitecaps led, 5-0.

The lone Fort Wayne run came in the fifth inning, thanks to Pauley’s sacrifice fly, which scored left fielder Kai Murphy.

West Michigan wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of that frame when designated hitter Andre Lipcius, a member of the Tigers’ 40-man roster rehabbing an injury from Triple-A Toledo, hit a bomb of his own.

Next Game: Friday, July 28 @ West Michigan (6:35 p.m.)

  • TinCaps Probable Starter: LHP Austin Krob
  • Whitecaps Probable Starter: RHP Williander Moreno

 

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