‘Caps Finish Strong 5-2 Win
DAYTON, OH — Outfielder Jackson Strong blasted his 17th home run of the season while starting pitcher Connor Fenlong delivered five outstanding innings as the West Michigan Whitecaps closed the 2026 season with a 5-2 victory over the Dayton Dragons Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 8,616
DAYTON, OH — Outfielder Jackson Strong blasted his 17th home run of the season while starting pitcher Connor Fenlong delivered five outstanding innings as the West Michigan Whitecaps closed the 2026 season with a 5-2 victory over the Dayton Dragons Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 8,616 fans at Day Air Ballpark.
Strong finished 2-for-3 with a home run, double, three RBI, two walks and two runs scored, providing the biggest swing of the afternoon as West Michigan snapped a three-game losing streak to finish its six-game series in Dayton with a split. Fenlong allowed just one run over five innings while striking out seven as the Whitecaps pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts.
West Michigan broke a scoreless tie in the third inning as outfielder Nolan McCarthy doubled before third baseman Carson Rucker singled, setting the stage for Strong, who launched a three-run homer to right field to give the Whitecaps a 3-0 advantage. Fenlong kept Dayton off the board through four innings before outfielder Damian Ruiz connected on a solo home run in the fifth, trimming the margin to 3-1.
The Whitecaps bullpen kept the Dragons offense quiet, as pitchers Ethan Sloan and Jalen Evans each tossed scoreless innings before Dayton pulled within a run against Luke Hoskins in the eighth. With runners at the corners, infielder Tyson Lewis grounded into a force out to score Kien Vu, cutting the West Michigan lead to 3-2 before Hoskins responded with consecutive strikeouts of Johnny Ascanio and Ruiz to escape the inning.
West Michigan answered with two critical insurance runs in the ninth. Strong doubled to right field before second baseman Jack Goodman delivered an RBI double to left, extending the lead to 4-2. First baseman Cristian Santana followed with an RBI single to left, scoring Goodman and pushing the advantage to three.
Pitcher Logan Berrier closed the door in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Kyle Henley before issuing a one-out walk to Justin Lebron. Berrier then induced Ty Doucette into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play, putting the finishing touch on the Whitecaps’ 2026 season.
Fenlong (4-1) earned his fourth win of the season, tossing five innings of one-run baseball while striking out seven. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Julian Aguiar (0-1), starting for the Dragons as part of a Minor League Rehab Assignment, gave up three runs in three innings in taking the loss. Berrier finished the season by collecting his fifth save of the year.
The victory gives West Michigan a final second-half record of 36-30 and an overall mark of 60-70, while the Dragons, who head to the 2026 Eastern Division Championship Series to take on the Great Lakes Loons, officially finish the season 67-63 overall and 28-36 in the second half. The Whitecaps remained in postseason contention until Saturday night, when the Loons officially clinched the Midwest League Eastern Division second-half playoff spot. Strong’s 17th homer also put an exclamation point on a breakout season for a Whitecaps offense that featured three players with at least 16 home runs, joining Santana and Bryce Rainer in accomplishing the feat, while setting a franchise record with 130 home runs on the year.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps have concluded the 2026 season and look forward to another year of baseball in 2027, scheduled to begin on Friday, April 2. Get all the latest Whitecaps off-season news at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.