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West Michigan Whitecaps

Farmer Deals, Whitecaps Hang On For Wild Win

July 11, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


DAYTON, OH - Buck Farmer dealt six dominant innings and the West Michigan Whitecaps survived a frenzied finish to hang on for a 7-4 win over the Dayton Dragons on Friday night at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio.

West Michigan (12-9, 53-38) snapped a brief three-game losing streak and improved to 4-3 through the first seven games of their 10-game road trip. After dominating the game through the seventh inning stretch, the 'Caps were forced to withstand a furious Dayton (10-11, 46-43) rally that nearly erased a five-run margin.

The performance of the night came from Farmer (9-5), who retired 17 of the 19 batters he faced in a masterful outing. He set down the first nine batters in a row before allowing consecutive singles to start the fourth inning, and then retired the next eight hitters he faced to complete six scoreless frames. Farmer struck out four without issuing a walk and allowed just two baserunners, throwing 53 of his 71 pitches for strikes.

The 23-year-old right-hander earned his third straight win while increasing his scoreless innings streak to 13. Farmer ranks among the Midwest League leaders in all three of the triple crown pitching categories with nine wins (T-1st), 108 strikeouts (1st) and a 2.79 ERA (T-5th).

While Farmer was cruising through the Dragons' lineup, the Whitecaps offense built a 5-0 lead.

Wynton Bernard had a big night out of the leadoff spot, reaching base in four of his five trips to the plate and opening the game with a solo homer to left. Bennett Pickar added an RBI-single in the second inning, but it was a seventh-inning rally that provided West Michigan with three crucial insurance runs.

The 'Caps roughed up Dayton reliever Joel Bender for four straight hits to open the seventh, including a run-scoring single by Raph Rhymes and a ground-rule double by Dominic Ficociello that drove in a run. Later in the inning, the bases were loaded with two outs when a wild pitch allowed Rhymes to score for the five-run cushion.

The comfortable lead quickly became a tenuous one following Farmer's departure. Dayton rallied for two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to pull within 5-4, but Zac Reininger maintained the lead with a key strikeout that ended the eighth inning with the potential game-tying run in scoring position.

West Michigan reasserted control with an assist from the Dayton defense in the top of the ninth. After Francisco Contreras lined a two-out single to left, Willy Adames sent a soft dribbler to the left side of the infield. Third baseman Avain Rachal threw the ball to first away and, as Contreras rounded third and raced home, right fielder Jonathan Reynoso air-mailed his throw high off the screen behind the plate. Adames also circled the bases and scored to push the lead to 7-4.

Reininger (7) came back out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to complete a six-out save.

Dayton's Sal Romano (5-9) suffered the loss. Romano was charged with two runs - one earned - on nine hits over six innings of work.

The Whitecaps continue their 10-game road trip on Saturday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch against the Dayton Dragons. RHP Austin Kubitza (7-1, 2.55) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Dan Langfield (2-0, 2.62) of Dayton. The next home game at Fifth Third Ballpark will be on Wednesday, July 16, at 7:00 p.m. featuring the interactive Aces in the Outfield promotion and post-game Family Fare fireworks. Season, group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps' front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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