MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Bernard Sparks Caps, Playoff Push Continues

Published on June 5, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


COMSTOCK PARK, MI - For the second straight night, the West Michigan Whitecaps seized an early lead and pitched their way to victory with a 6-2 win over the Great Lakes Loons on Thursday at Fifth Third Ballpark.

West Michigan (34-26) won for the sixth time in their last eight games to increase their lead in the MWL-East wild card race to three games over the Dayton Dragons with just 10 games to play in the first half. The Whitecaps will try to complete a three-game sweep against Great Lakes (28-32) on Friday night.

Led by All-Star Wynton Bernard, the 'Caps jumped all over Loons' starter Scott Barlow on Thursday night. Batting leadoff, Bernard was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, an RBI and two stolen bases. He is now batting .396 with 12 runs scored and seven stolen bases during a current 12-game hitting streak that is the longest by a Whitecaps' player this season.

The 23-year-old outfielder quickly extended his hitting streak by leading off the first inning with a double. He scored moments later on an RBI-single by Javier Betancourt and West Michigan never relinquished the lead.

In the second, Bernard came up with men at first and second and bounced an RBI-single over the third baseman's head. Two outs later, consecutive run-scoring singles by Dominic Ficociello and Jeff Holm gave the Whitecaps a comfortable 4-0 cushion.

The lead increased to 6-0 by the fourth inning after a two-out throwing error allowed a pair of unearned runs to come around.

The pitching and defense did the rest, led by fellow All-Star and 2013 first-round pick Jonathon Crawford (3-1). The hard-throwing right-hander limited Great Lakes to just one run on four hits over six innings to earn the win. Despite issuing a career-high five walks, Crawford carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning before the Loons were able to break through.

Great Lakes threatened in the middle innings but the Whitecaps' pitching and defense were up to the challenge.

After issuing a pair of two-out walks in the fifth, Crawford blew a fastball past Jesmuel Valentin to strand runners at second and third. The Loons mounted another rally in the sixth and had the bases loaded with just one out, but third baseman Francisco Contreras handled an in-between hop and started a 5-4-3 double play to squash another rally and help Crawford through six full innings.

In the seventh, Great Lakes added another run and cut the deficit to 6-2 with runners on second and third. But Montreal Robertson struck out Kyle Farmer and Joe Mantiply induced a soft groundout to end the inning.

The Loons stranded 10 runners on base over the course of the night.

Mantiply (5) went on to close out the game with a 2.1-inning save, while Barlow (1-2) was charged with four runs on six hits in just two innings for the loss.

The Whitecaps continue their playoff push on Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch against the Great Lakes Loons. All-Star RHP Buck Farmer (5-4, 2.81) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Victor Arano (3-2, 4.93) of Great Lakes on a Tiger Friday featuring an appearance by Daryl Patterson and a 1968 Team Lithograph giveaway. 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

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Midwest League Stories from June 5, 2014


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