Sports stats

MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Back-to-Back Jacks Lead 'Caps

April 14, 2010 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


BOWLING GREEN, KY - The West Michigan Whitecaps rode back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning and sturdy relief pitching to a 6-2 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Wednesday night, taking the opener of a three-game series at Bowling Green Ballpark.

West Michigan (3-4) collected a season-high five doubles and seven extra-base hits while the bullpen contributed five shutout innings. Having won three of their last four games, the Whitecaps will send Jacob Turner, the ninth overall pick in the 2009 draft, to the mound in game two of the set against Bowling Green (2-5) on Thursday.

After their first eight batters of the game were retired in order, West Michigan broke out with four consecutive two-out hits in the top of the third. Hernan Perez got it started with a single, while Jamie Johnson and Mike Gosse delivered back-to-back run-scoring doubles to stake West Michigan to a 2-0 lead.

Bowling Green rallied to tie the score with a pair of runs in the fourth, but the Whitecaps promptly responded with a big inning in the top of the fifth.

Elvin Soto broke the tie by lifting a solo home run to the opposite field. Just two pitches later, Perez turned on a ball and drove a liner out of the yard to left field for back-to-back home runs. After Johnson followed with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, Gosse ripped an RBI-single inside the right field line for a 5-2 advantage.

The Whitecaps bullpen and defense took over from there. Victor Larez entered the ballgame in the fifth and tossed three shutout innings, inducing double play balls in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the comeback-minded Hot Rods off the board.

After consecutive doubles by Alexis Espinoza and Eric Roof pushed the lead to 6-2 in the top of the eighth, Nolan Cain came in and retired the last six batters of the ballgame to close the door.

Larez (1-1) earned the win while Bowling Green started Jason McEachern (0-2) suffered the loss. McEachern was charged with five runs on eight hits over four innings after cruising through his first 2.2 frames without allowing a baserunner on just 21 pitches.

The Whitecaps continue their road series in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with a 7:35 p.m. ET start against the Hot Rods on Thursday, April 15. RHP Jacob Turner (0-0, 0.00) will take the mound for his second start with West Michigan against Bowling Green RHP Shane Dyer (0-0, 1.80). The Whitecaps will be back at Fifth Third Ballpark on Saturday, April 17, to host the Great Lakes Loons for a 6:35 p.m. start on Autism Awareness Night, which will feature a jersey auction to help raise funds for the Autism Society of Kent County. Season, 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



Midwest League Stories from April 14, 2010


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