MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Farmer Fans 11 As Whitecaps Win 5-2

April 18, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - Buck Farmer struck out 11 and Wynton Bernard cracked a key three-run homer as the West Michigan Whitecaps cruised to a 5-2 win over the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

West Michigan (9-6) won for the sixth time in their last eight games, with their only two losses over that span coming in extra innings. The Whitecaps will go for the series sweep on Saturday against a Cedar Rapids (8-7) club that has followed a six-game winning streak with four consecutive losses.

Farmer (2-1) was dominant on Friday, using a nasty slider to record 10 of his career-high 11 strikeouts on swings and misses. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed just two hits and one walk over seven shutout innings. After allowing a single to the first batter he faced, Farmer induced a double play on his next pitch and did not give up another hit until a leadoff single in the seventh.

A fifth-round pick out of Georgia Tech last summer, Farmer got the better of Kernels' right-hander Kohl Stewart (0-1), a highly-regarded prospect that was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Stewart also dominated through the first three innings before the Whitecaps got to him in the fourth.

Javier Betancourt started the rally with a leadoff single and advanced to third on a double by Raph Rhymes. Dominic Ficociello put the 'Caps on the board with a sacrifice fly and Ben Verlander drilled a double off the left field wall to plate Rhymes for a 2-0 advantage.

That score remained until the seventh, when a leadoff double by Brett Harrison and a one-out walk to Bennett Pickar put two runners aboard. Bernard followed with a towering three-run blast that flew just inside the left field foul pole, giving West Michigan a comfortable 5-0 cushion.

With the home run and three doubles, the Whitecaps used extra-base hits to account for four of their six knocks in the ballgame. That was a welcome change of pace for a West Michigan team that entered play ranked first in the Midwest League in batting and total hits but last in extra-base hits and slugging percentage.

The Whitecaps' 18-year-old double play duo of shortstop Willy Adames and second baseman Javier Betancourt also had an eventful evening. The young middle infielders were charged with two errors apiece, but they also turned three 6-4-3 double plays, including a spectacular twin-killing to end the eighth and a game-ending double play with the potential game-tying run at the plate in the ninth.

The Whitecaps conclude their six-game road trip with the finale of a three-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 2:05 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. RHP Austin Kubitza (2-0, 0.84) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Felix Jorge (1-1, 6.00) of Cedar Rapids. The next homestand at Fifth Third Ballpark will begin on Monday, April 21, at 6:35 p.m. against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Each day of the seven-game "Dollar Days" homestand will feature a different $1 special, starting with $1 reserved seats on Monday for fans that bring a church or community bulletin thanks to JQ99 FM. 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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Midwest League Stories from April 18, 2014


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