MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Pitching, Defense Lead To Series-Opening Win

Published on June 25, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


COMSTOCK PARK, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps have had no trouble getting up to play the Bowling Green Hot Rods this season.

In a rematch of a hard-fought series played in Kentucky two weeks ago, three Whitecaps' pitchers combined on a five-hitter and a 6-1 victory in the opener of a three-game set at Fifth Third Ballpark on Monday night.

West Michigan (2-2, 38-36) played a magnificent defensive game in addition to the fine pitching performance, snapping Bowling Green's (3-1, 41-33) six-game winning streak and dealing the Hot Rods their first loss of the second half.

It was a small measure of revenge for the Whitecaps, whose late charge towards a first-half playoff spot was held off by a prospect-laden Hot Rods' club that hung on to clinch the Eastern Division wild card. With a 5-2 advantage in the season-series, West Michigan is the only team in the division with a winning record against a Bowling Green club that entered play first in the Midwest League in hitting and second in pitching.

For the Whitecaps, pitching and defense was the recipe for quieting Bowling Green's high-flying attack on Monday night.

The Hot Rods scored their only run on three singles in the second inning, which turned out to be the only frame in which Bowling Green advanced a runner into scoring position or managed multiple baserunners.

Marcelo Carreno (3-4) won his third straight decision with five solid innings, limiting Bowling Green to one run on four singles. He struck out three and walked one, departing after 72 pitches in his first outing in more than two weeks.

The bullpen did the rest, with Alabama natives Slade Smith and Jade Todd throwing two innings apiece to finish the job. Smith allowed one hit but erased it with a double play, facing the minimum in his Midwest League debut after being drafted by the Detroit Tigers earlier this month. The 21-year-old Smith, 17th-round pick out of Auburn University, is the first member of the Tigers' 2012 draft class to join West Michigan.

Jason King went 3-for-5 to lead the offense, but the biggest hit of the day was delivered by Zach Maggard in the bottom of the seventh.

With a tenuous 3-1 edge and the bases loaded, Maggard delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single that turned a tight game into a comfortable lead. Chad Wright followed with an RBI-single as the Whitecaps seized control with a 6-1 advantage.

Bowling Green's Felipe Rivero (6-6) suffered the loss, surrendering three runs - one earned - on seven hits over five innings of work.

The Whitecaps continue a six-game homestand at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night with the second game of a three-game series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. RHP Jeff Ferrell (2-2, 3.57) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP Jake Floethe (6-1, 2.94) of Bowling Green in a game that will feature 10-cent hot dogs on Dime Dog Night. 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 June 25, 2012


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