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West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps Stand Tall in 5-4 Win

July 1, 2016 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


DAYTON, OH - The West Michigan Whitecaps forced the Dayton Dragons to strand the potential tying run at third base with nobody out in the ninth inning to hold on for a 5-4 win in front of 8,253 fans at Fifth Third Field Friday night.

The ballgame opened with the Dragons taking the early lead on the first of three RBI-singles by James Vasquez in the first. The 'Caps went on to score the next four runs of the evening by plating a pair in both the second and fourth. Franklin Navarro came within inches of a home run while tying the ballgame with a run-scoring double in the second. Jose Zambrano followed with an RBI-single to break the tie and give West Michigan a 2-1 lead. Rashad Brown sent home the next two Whitecaps in the fourth with a two-run single to extend the 'Caps lead to 4-1. The Dragons battled back to score single runs in the fourth and sixth to cut the Whitecaps lead to 4-3 before Cam Gibson plated a much-needed insurance run with a run-scoring single in the eighth. The hit would prove to be the difference in the contest as Vasquez bounced his third RBI-single of the game into centerfield, bringing the score to 5-4 in the eighth. Reliever Drew Smith was summoned from the bullpen, and stranded runners at second and third when he got Luis Gonzalez to lineout to right field to end the inning.

With the Dragons trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Mitch Piatnik led off the bottom of the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch with no one out. That's when Smith buckled down and got some huge help from dazzling defender Derek Hill. The 'Caps right fielder made a diving catch on a soft fly ball from Zack Shields, keeping Piatnik at third for the first out. After Reydel Medina bounced to first for the second out, Smith struck out Dayton third baseman Nick Senzel - who was making his Midwest League debut after being selected with the second overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the June MLB Draft - to end the contest.

Whitecaps starter Fernando Perez (3-3) earned his third win of the season after tossing seven innings for the time since August of 2014 and allowed four runs while striking out four. Tanner Rainey (2-7) took the loss for the Dragons after allowing four of the five 'Caps runs in six frames despite striking out nine. Smith recorded the final four outs to record his second save in as many appearances. The Whitecaps now stand at 42-34, and 3-6 in the second half. Dayton falls to 3-6 in the second portion of 2016, and 24-55 on the season. Brett Pirtle and Zambrano led the Whitecaps offense with a pair of hits in the contest.

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