COMSTOCK PARK – The West Michigan Whitecaps are one win from the Midwest League Championship, and got there with their feet.
While analytics drive what teams do during the regular season, the little things end up bigger in the postseason.
The West Michigan Whitecaps used some key smallball plays, including two stolen bases, to turn the tide in the Midwest League Championship series, winning Game 1, 5-3 in comeback fashion over the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday, Sept. 14, at LMCU Ballpark.
“That was awesome. It was so loud,” Whitecaps manager Tony Cappuccilli said. “It was incredible. Winning the title would mean a lot to the guys and to the community. Guys are so excited.”
The Whitecaps always draw a crowd, but the postseason was different.
“The atmosphere is good every game here, but people really showed up in the playoffs, which was really great,” Whitecaps second baseman Peyton Graham said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the other team. When our run game is on, we are pretty tough.”
The fifth inning is where the run game took over.
Trailing 3-1, Woody Hadeen singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Peyton Graham singled him home to pull the Whitecaps within 3-2. Graham moved to second on the throw home, then stole third. With two outs, he scored on a single by Brett Callahan to tie the game.
Callahan stole second and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Garrett Pennington. Austin Murr followed with an RBI triple.
“We have some guys that we thought could do something (with their speed). We saw a good opportunity to get a bag,” Cappuccilli said. “With Callahan getting that base hit and stealing second, then Pennington gets a hit, then he gets to second, then another hit. We really got things going. We got some stolen bases but definitely took the extra bases. Those are huge. We talked about not changing anything we do (because it is the finals). We have had a lot of success being aggressive, so that is what we did.”
And just like all season, it wasn’t just one or two players contributing, but the entire lineup. Eight guys were on base at least once on Sunday.
“It is super important for everyone to get involved. We trust everyone in the lineup and there is a reason we have won 95 games,” Graham said. “Our team has been equally contributing all season.”
Pitching performance tough to follow
After Hayden Minton had the best start of his professional career, with six hitless innings, to propel the Whitecaps into the Midwest League finals, West Michigan was hoping to keep that momentum going with another strong start.
It didn’t quite happen as Preston Howey lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three earned runs. He struck out for and walked one.
It wasn’t a terrible outing, but in the best-of-three finals, the Whitecaps went to their bullpen a little earlier than they might have in a regular-season game.
It worked as Carlos Marcano ended up throwing 4 2/3 innings allowing just one hit, while striking out seven and walking one.
Marcano missed most of the season with an injury and was just activated before the postseason.
“The crowd gave him such a loud ovation,” Cappuccilli said. “That was such a special moment for him and for us.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Whitecaps one win from Midwest League title after stealing Game 1 win over Cedar Rapids
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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