Beau Ankeney hits walkoff homer for Whitecaps

Toledo Mud Hens 5, Louisville Bats 3 (Gm1)(box)(F/7)

Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ricky Vanasco shut down the Bats offense long enough for their teammates to build a lead and hang on in this makeup game from yesterday’s postponement.

Gipson-Long walked five hitters over 3.2 innings but didn’t allow a hit or anyone to score. Vanasco cleaned up the fourth and the fifth innings, as the offense got to work after wasting a good opportunity in the second inning.

Bennett Lee led off the third with a double and moved to third on a Jace Jung ground out. Max Anderson scored him with a sacrifice fly.

In the fifth, Jung doubled with one out, and Josue Briceño drew a two-out walk. Brett Callahan smoked an RBI double 111 mph off the right field wall, and Briceño scored on an infield single from Justice Bigbie. That made it 3-0, and they weren’t done as Cal Stevenson walked and Max Burt came up with a two-run single and a 5-0 lead.

Luke Taggart got into trouble in the eighth and allowed a three-run shot that made things a little sketchy, but he handled the seventh to collect the save.

Stevenson: 2-3, 2B, BB, K

Callahan: 1-3, R, RBI, 2B, BB, K

Briceño: 1-3, R, BB, K

Jung: 1-3, R, 2B, BB

Gipson-Long: 3.2 IP, 0 R, H, 5 BB, 3 K

Louisville Bats 4, Toledo Mud Hens 3 (Gm2)(box)(F/8)

The Bats got their revenge in the nightcap as the two teams played a close one that ultimately went to Louisville in walkoff fashion.

Recent pickup RHP Andre Granillo, formerly of the Cardinals, whom the Tigers succesfully outrighted to Toledo at the end of July, got the start in this one and he struggled. Granillo gave up two homers in the first inning, one off a 94 mph fourseamer and the other off his curveball. Both pitches where right over the heart of the plate, and the second was a two-run shot. So the Hens were down 3-0 early in this one.

Granillo worked the second without issue and the bullpen took over from there, and really shut down the Bats the rest of regulation. Of course, the Hens weren’t exactly swinging it either. It’s been a weird series with rain and postponements already, and the pitchers weren’t exactly punching tickets left and right either. Neither team could find grass for much of the game.

Josue Briceño had another solid game, lining a sharp double in the first and later fighting through a nine-pitch at-bat to draw a walk.

The Hens answered back in the top of the third. Max Burt reached on a bunt to start the inning and catcher Seby Zavala cracked a two-run shot. Jace Jung immediately followed with a solo homer to right center field, and it was tie ballgame at 3-3.

Tyler Mattison and Jack Little each handled two innings of relief with little traffic, and Yilber Diaz fired a 1-2-3 fifth in between them. This headed to the 8th, which was extra innings for this one. The Hens failed to get the runner on second in, but the Bats did not, as Dariel Fregio walked the leadoff hitter and then wild pitched them 90 feet. They intentionally walked the bases loaded…and Fregio walked Michael Chavis to end it in anti-climactic fashion, though Bats fans would probably disagree.

Jung: 2-4, R, RBI, HR, K

Briceño: 1-3, 2B, BB, K

Zavala: 2-2, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:15 p.m. ET start on Friday with the Hens holding a 2-1 lead in the series.

Erie SeaWolves 3, Hartford Yard Goats 1 (box)

A brilliant start from lefty Carlos Peña highlighted this victory.

Peña has a start every month like this where he’s in total command and just carves up an opposing lineup despite barely topping 90 mph. He scattered five hits with no walks over 5.2 innings in this one, striking out seven as his breaking ball and changeup were sharp.

In the top of the second inning, Robert Campos reached on an error and Stephenson smoked a double to center field to make it 1-0. Stephenson then snatched third base for his 53rd stolen base of the season, and scored on a passed ball.

The SeaWolves got two on in the fourth but couldn’t score. However, in the top of the sixth, E.J. Exposito doubled and Luke Shliger walked. Stephenson came through again with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Yoniel Curet allowed a run in the seventh, but Tyler Owens survived some traffic in the eighth, and Zane Barnhart shut the door in the ninth to earn the save.

Stephenson: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, K, SB

Shliger: 1-2, 2 BB, K

Pena (W, ): 5.2 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Coming Up Next:

West Michigan Whitecaps 7, Lansing Lugnuts 5 (box)

Beau Ankeney continued his reign of terror since being promoted to High-A, racking up four hits and crushing a two-run walkoff homer in the ninth to break a tie game open.

Win Scott got the start, and he struggled, allowing three runs in three innings, though they were all unearned. Still, one error on a ground ball led to a run on a double, and Scott allowed a two-run shot before getting out of the third. Maddox Long took over and gave up two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

However, in the bottom of the fourth the Whitecaps offense started gaining ground. Stephen Hrustich singled with one out, and Andrew Sojka singled with two outs. Cristian Santana then hammered a three-run shot to center field to make it a 4-3 Lansing lead.

Jackson Strong led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo shot, and later in the inning, Samuel Gil doubled in Ricardo Hurtado to tie the game 5-5.

Logan Berrier and Jalen Evans did nice work to blank Lansing over the final three frames. In the bottom of the ninth, Hurtado singled with two outs. Ankeney got a juicy pitch to hit down and in with a 1-0 count, and he did not miss. That is his fifth homer in 13 games with the Whitecaps, and the 20th on the year for the Tigers 2025 14th rounder out of Loyola. There are a lot of swing and miss concerns with Ankeney, but good grief is he mashing in his first pro season.

Ankeney: 4-5, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR

Gil: 2-4, RBI, 2B

Santana: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, BB

Hurtado: 2-5, 2 R, K

Scott: 3.0 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:35 p.m. ET start at LMCU Park on Friday with the Whitecaps up 2-1 in the series. They remain a half game back of the Great Lakes Loons for the East division lead in the second half standings.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 3, Bradenton Marauders 0 (b0x)

The Flying Tigers got a strong outing from Cale Wetwiska to take a 2-1 lead in the series on Thursday.

Wetwiska battled his control at times in this one, but he blanked the Marauders for five innings, scattering five singles and four walks, while punching out three. He averaged 95.6 mph with his riding fourseamer, and mainly used it and the slider to manage the Marauders. Pedro Garcia did a great job in relief, spinning four scoreless innings with just two hits and no walks allowed, while striking out four.

The Flying Tigers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second. Brady Ballinger drew a walk in his second pro game, and Ronald Ramirez singled to center field. A balk advanced both runners and Enderson Delgado singled to score them both.

In the bottom of the fifth, Zach MacDonald doubled, stole third, and the throw got away, allowing him to score. The Flying Tigers only managed three hits on the day, but it was enough as the pitching and defense were sharp.

Ramirez: 1-2, R, BB

MacDonald. 1-3, R, 2B, K, SB

Delgado: 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 K

Wetwiska (W, 2-0): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K

Garcia (S.1) 4.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: It’s a 6:30 p.m. ET start scheduled for Friday night.