Cubs put the collar on the Whitecaps on Dog Night at the ballpark, 7-1

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The West Michigan Whitecaps scored the first run of the night Thursday at home against the South Bend Cubs.

Unfortunately, it proved to be their only run in a 7-1 loss at LMCU Ballpark.

The Whitecaps' 4,913 fans in attendance - and their furry friends - did not have much to bark about after the first inning on Dog Night. It was a fielder's choice groundout by Garrett Pennington (his 24th RBI of the season) that brought home leadoff hitter Andrew Sojka from third base for the game's first score. His hand slid across the dish a split second before the Cubs' catcher applied the tag, and all looked bright and sunny, including the skies at the start of the game, when it was 61 degrees.

But as the game progressed, the air grew colder - and so did the Whitecaps' bats. They finished with only seven hits on the night, which ended two-and-a-half hours after it began; when it was 54 degrees with 13 mile-per-hour winds that made it seem colder. But the South Bend bats warmed up by the 3rd inning, with Kane Kepley and Cam Sisneros driving home a pair of runs with singles. That was followed with a homerun by Matt Halbach in the fourth frame.

Umpire Tanya Millette called the balls and strikes behind home plate.

Whitecaps starter Lucas Elissalt (0-3) allowed five earned runs in four innings of work. The Cubs put up four more runs in the fifth inning. Whitecaps' pitcher Carlos Lequerica allowed two of them, although one run was unearned due to an error by catcher Ricardo Hurtado, tried to pick off a runner.

Kevin Valdez earned the win for South Bend by tossing four shutout innings and registering four strikeouts. The Whitecaps put up goose eggs on the scoreboard in innings 2 through 9. South Bend scored its seven runs in innings three through five and were scoreless in the other six innings.

West Michigan had multiple baserunners - helped by four Cubs' errors - and many chances to get back in the game, but the Caps' batters went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the final innings. But Bryce Rainer was one of the few batting bright spots for the 'Caps. He now has a three-game hitting streak.

The fans did not seem to mind what was happening on the scoreboard. And the canine fans were focused more on the action in the stands. They seemed to love the delightful smells of food wafting around the stadium and seeing so many other furballs taking their humans for a walk around the stadium concourses.

The festive atmosphere, sights, sounds and smells at LMCU Ballpark never seem to dissipate. Last season, the Whitecaps posted the best winning percentage of any minor league team at any level last year since 1997, while breezing to a Midwest League Championship. And although this year's Whitecaps are a far cry from that team, you would never be able to tell the difference in the quality of the on-field product, based on the crowd reaction.

At the Whitecaps' very first home game ever in 1994, snow began to fall at the end of the game, which was a victory. The temperature fell to 54 by nightfall at LMCU Ballpark on Thursday night in a game that was a loss. But the crowd atmosphere seemed as upbeat as that night 32 years ago.

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