Comstock Park, MI – A day after the Chiefs put up 13 runs on 13 hits, Peoria’s offense fell flat, scoring just one run on four hits in a 9-1 loss in their final road game of the season on Sunday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark.
With the loss, Peoria fell to 28-31 in the second half and finished up with a 30-36 road record, a win shy of matching their best High-A era road record.
Peoria broke its all-time single-season strikeout record in the fifth inning when Andrew Sojka swung and missed for Jack Martinez’s sixth punchout of the game.
It marked the Chiefs’ 1,237th strikeout of the season, surpassing the previous record of 1,236 set in 2022 by a staff that featured future big leaguers Michael McGreevy, Gordon Graceffo, Chris Roycroft and Ryan Loutos.
West Michigan opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Stephen Hrustich hit a two-run single to make it 2-0 Whitecaps.
Peoria got on the board in the sixth when Sammy Hernandez lifted a towering solo homer down the left-field line off Jalen Evans, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Martinez turned in his longest start with Peoria, tossing 5.2 innings of four-run ball on four hits while he struck out seven and walked none.
The Whitecaps pulled away in the bottom of the sixth. Hrustich hit an RBI single before Sojka lined a two-run single into right-center to make it 5-1. With runners on the corners, Sojka stole second and Hernandez’s throw sailed high, allowing another run to score on the error and extending West Michigan’s advantage to 6-1.
Cristian Santana broke the game open in the seventh with a three-run homer to left, stretching the Whitecaps’ lead to 9-1.
West Michigan used five pitchers to throw nine innings of one-run ball.
The Chiefs return to Peoria for the final week of the regular season, hosting Quad Cities for their final homestand of the year.
Tickets are available at PeoriaChiefs.com or at the Dozer Park box office.
Fans can watch Tuesday’s 6:35 p.m. ET game on MiLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live app or listen at PeoriaChiefs.com.
