'Caps Drop Ten-Inning Tilt in Dayton, 5-4
April 26, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
DAYTON, OH - The West Michigan Whitecaps couldn't hang on to a one-run lead as part of a 5-4 loss in ten innings to the Dayton Dragons in front of 7,708 fans at Day Air Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.
The Whitecaps, whose bullpen had posted a collective ERA of 2.29 in 19.2 innings pitched in this series heading into Saturday, allowed Dayton to rally from a 4-3 deficit with a run in the ninth before plating the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Dragons catcher Connor Burns to end the contest.
The Whitecaps and Dragons boasted strong starting pitchers in the early innings on Saturday. It wasn't until the third when the 'Caps mounted a short, two-out rally as Seth Stephenson laced an RBI-Double, scoring Max Clark from first base to give West Michigan a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, 'Caps starter Rayner Castillo was denied his chance at a scoreless start by giving up a two-out, three-run homer to Burns to give Dayton a 3-1 lead. The Dragons advantage was short-lived as Josue Briceño returned the favor with a three-run blast of his own, helping the 'Caps retake the lead with a 4-3 advantage.
The score remained the same until the ninth when 'Caps reliever Marco Jimenez walked the first batter he faced in outfielder Carlos Jorge. Shortstop Leo Balcazar followed with a game-tying RBI-Double to even the game at four and send the contest into extra innings. In the tenth, the Whitecaps couldn't manage to score with a runner placed on second base, as Briceño launched a long fly ball to center field with the go-ahead run at third base but was caught at the warning track to end the threat. In the bottom of the frame, Burns followed a perfect sacrifice bunt by Myles Smith with Burns' sacrifice fly to score Ricky Cabrera from third base and give the Dragons their third win of the series.
The Whitecaps record drops to 13-7 while the Dragons fall to 8-12. Dayton, who used three consecutive lefties on the mound to cover the ten innings of play on Saturday, watched southpaw Graham Osman (2-0) toss 2.1 scoreless frames in collecting his second win of the year. Jimenez (0-1) gave up the Dragons game-tying and winning runs in relief to take his first loss of the season. Briceño's homer ties him for the Midwest League lead with five on the season while giving him sole possession of first place with 22 runs batted in.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps close out this six-game series with a Sunday matinee at Day Air Ballpark against the Dayton Dragons at 1:05 pm. Lefty Joe Miller takes the mound for West Michigan against Dragons righty Gabriel Aguilera. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 12:50 pm on 106.1 FM 'The Ticket' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids to catch all the action, or listen to the game live at whitecapsbaseball.com.
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