MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Red-Hot Collier, Westlake Lead 'caps To Victory

Published on June 29, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


EASTLAKE, OH - Tommy Collier fired off seven strong innings and Aaron Westlake continued his second-half resurgence to lead the West Michigan Whitecaps to a 4-2 win over the Lake County Captains on Friday night at Classic Park.

Collier and the Whitecaps continued their strong play in suburban Cleveland.

West Michigan (5-3, 41-37) improved to 7-2 at Classic Park this season, with Collier boasting a 3-0 record and a sparkling 0.82 ERA over three road starts against Lake County (4-4, 35-42).

After twirling a nine-inning complete-game shutout the last time he took the mound at Classic Park on May 30, Collier picked up right where he left off on Friday night.

The All-Star right-hander threw seven innings without allowing an earned run, scattering six hits and taking a shutout into the sixth before an error helped the Captains push across an unearned run against him. Collier struck out two and walked two, picking off one baserunner and using an inning-ending double play in the seventh to put an emphatic exclamation point on his outing.

Collier (6-5) cruised to the victory, and has now thrown 19 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run at Classic Park.

Westlake led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI to improve his second-half batting average to a scorching-hot .556 (15-27). He has hit safely in all eight games since the All-Star break while driving in eight runs.

West Michigan reached the scoreboard in the top of the second when Jeff Holm singled to left and Brandon Loy fought his way past a play at the plate to slap the dish for a 1-0 lead. Westlake added run-scoring singles in the sixth and eighth innings and, later in the eighth, Loy drilled a sacrifice fly to left to cap the Whitecaps' scoring.

Following Collier's departure, Slade Smith tossed a scoreless eighth inning and Dan Bennett (10) closed out the win in the ninth.

Joe Colon (6-8) suffered the loss for Lake County, allowing two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings of work.

The Whitecaps continue a six-game road trip at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night with the finale of a three-game series against the Lake County Captains at Classic Park. RHP Marcelo Carreno (3-4, 3.33) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP Cody Anderson (4-4, 2.99) of Lake County. The Whitecaps' next home game will take place on Wednesday, July 4, at 7:00 p.m. with a visit from the ZOOperstars and Independence Day fireworks. 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 29, 2012


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