NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



West Michigan Whitecaps

Eighth-Inning Rally Lifts Whitecaps To Victory

August 15, 2012 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


SOUTH BEND, IN - The West Michigan Whitecaps hit the home stretch running on Wednesday night, plating six runs during a tie-breaking rally in the top of the eighth inning to beat the South Bend Silver Hawks, 7-1, at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium.

Entering play with 20 games remaining over the final 20 days of the regular season, West Michigan (25-26, 61-60) started the decisive stretch by winning the opener of a three-game series in South Bend (25-25, 60-60). The Whitecaps and Silver Hawks are two of four teams bunched together within five games of each other in the race for the Eastern Division's two second-half playoff spots.

The game was tied at 1-1 when the 'Caps sent 11 men to the plate and blew the game open in the top of the eighth.

Jeff McVaney started the rally with a double on the first pitch thrown by reliever Kable Hogben (4-3). After a bunt and a walk put men at the corners, Pat Leyland yanked his second hit of the day through the left side of the infield for a 2-1 lead.

With two outs and two men aboard, Zach Maggard came up with the biggest hit of the inning. The ninth hitter in the lineup lifted a flare to right-center that touched down between two hustling outfielders, both of whom went sprawling to the ground as the ball bounced past them. The two-run triple capped a 2-for-3, three-RBI day for Maggard and sparked a string of five consecutive hits with two outs in the eighth.

Chad Wright singled home Maggard and Eugenio Suarez blasted a run-scoring double off the top of the left field wall, narrowly missing a home run. Following a pitching change, Aaron Westlake added a single to right-center that plated Suarez and McVaney contributed his second hit of the inning.

When the dust had settled, the 'Caps had exploded for six runs on seven hits to seize a commanding 7-1 lead.

Early on, starting pitchers Brennan Smith and Archie Bradley were locked into a low-scoring battle.

Bradley racked up eight strikeouts over four innings, but also issued five walks and fell behind 1-0 when Maggard clubbed an RBI-double off the left-center field wall in the fourth inning.

Smith countered with five solid frames, allowing one run on five hits. After giving up a one-out double in the fifth that tied the score, he was able to strand runners at second and third to maintain the 1-1 deadlock.

As it turned out, the game-tying double by South Bend's Chris Ellison in the fifth inning was the Silver Hawks' last hit of the night. After Smith wiggled out of the jam to limit the damage, a trio of West Michigan relievers combined to throw four hitless innings. Slade Smith (2-1) pitched the sixth and seventh to earn the win while Jade Todd and Melvin Mercedes added an inning apiece.

The quartet of pitchers combined to hold South Bend to just five hits in the victory.

The Whitecaps continue their road trip with the middle game a three-game series against the South Bend Silver Hawks on Thursday night 7:05 p.m. LHP Kyle Ryan (6-7, 4.05) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP Tyler Green (4-6, 3.86) of South Bend. The next home game at Fifth Third Ballpark will be on Saturday, August 18, at 7:00 p.m. with promotions including Racing Night, a pre-game t-shirt giveaway, and a spectacular post-game fireworks show. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

Check out the West Michigan Whitecaps Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Midwest League message board...

Midwest League Stories from August 15, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent West Michigan Whitecaps Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central