MWL West Michigan Whitecaps

'Caps over .500 with 5th Straight Win

Published on May 19, 2024 under Midwest League (MWL)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


PEORIA, IL - The West Michigan Whitecaps rode dominant pitching throughout the week to a season-high five-game winning streak, finishing with a 4-2 victory over the Peoria Chiefs Sunday at Dozer Park.

'Caps pitchers were sensational throughout the series, allowing just ten runs in six games and posting a combined ERA of 1.50, helping propel West Michigan to its first over .500 record at 20-19 since they were 3-2 on April 10.

Sunday's contest saw a pitching rematch of Tuesday's 1-0 Chiefs win - their lone victory of the series - with Colin Fields and Connor Hjerpe on the mound for West Michigan and Peoria, respectively. Both pitchers locked in early, and the game remained scoreless until the third when Luke Gold launched a three-run homer, his ninth of the season, to open the scoring and give the 'Caps a 3-0 lead. Peyton Graham jumped all over the first pitch of the fourth inning to extend the advantage to 4-0 with his first Whitecaps homer. The score remained the same until the sixth when Won Bin Cho's RBI-double gave Peoria their first run before Darlin Moquete blasted his first home run of the season to bring the score to 4-2, but 'Caps pitcher Matt Merrill came on and tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his third save and send West Michigan into a series at first-place Lake County next week just two games out of first place.

Fields finished the week with eight scoreless innings spanning two starts and four in Sunday's matinee, while reliever Chris Mauloni (1-1) picked up his first win. Peoria's Connor Hjerpe (0-2) gave up the home run to Gold in suffering his second loss of the season. Peyton Graham reached base in all four of his plate appearances, with three walks to go along with his first Whitecaps homer. It was West Michigan's first time winning five games in a series in 2024 and first since taking the first five contests before a cancellation ended a series against the Lake County Captains from August 1-5 last season.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps are set to continue their 12-game road trip with a six-game series against the Lake County Captains on Tuesday night at 6:35pm. The game will feature lefty Joe Miller as the starting pitcher for West Michigan, while the Captains will be led by righty Juan Zapata. To catch all the action, tune into the broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:20 pm on 106.1 FM ' The Ticket ' and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids. Don't miss out on the excitement; get your tickets for all 2024 home contests or listen to the games live at whitecapsbaseball.com.

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