
West Michigan Lets Another Late Lead Slip Away
April 24, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release
COMSTOCK PARK, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps ran into more late trouble on Thursday night, pulling to within one strike of a victory before a game-changing two-run single by the Bowling Green Hot Rods left the home team with a 4-3 loss at Fifth Third Ballpark.
After converting their first four save opportunities of the season, West Michigan (10-10) has blown each of their last four save chances to slip back to .500. Moments away from splitting the four-game series, the Whitecaps instead watched Bowling Green (5-14) skip town with three wins in four days.
The 'Caps carried a slim 3-2 lead into the ninth inning when Scott Sitz took over. After walking the leadoff batter on a pay-off pitch, the right-hander missed out on a pair of near strike-three calls before issuing a second consecutive full-count walk to start the inning. Sitz bounced back to induce an infield pop-out followed by a bounce-out to first, leaving runners at second and third with two away.
With the game on the line, Sitz next faced Armando Araiza, who tagged him for a 10th-inning three-run homer on Monday to propel Bowling Green to a series-opening victory. The 20-year-old catcher played the role of hero again on Thursday, taking a 1-2 pitch and lining it into left field for a two-run single.
Just like that, the Hot Rods grabbed a 4-3 advantage - their only lead of the night.
Ian Kendall (2-0) retired the top of the West Michigan lineup in order in the bottom of the ninth, completing two shutout innings of relief to earn the victory. Sitz (1-3) was charged with both a blown save and a loss for the second time in the series after allowing two runs on one hit and two walks.
The Whitecaps had built their lead on strong pitching and a productive night from the heart of the order.
Starter Jonathon Crawford allowed just one unearned run in five innings of work and left the game in line for the win. He was relieved by Julio Felix, who gave up one run and struck out four in three innings to help the 'Caps take a lead into the ninth.
Raph Rhymes and Dominic Ficociello carried the offense. Rhymes was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI while Ficociello was 3-for-4 with a run-scoring triple.
The game was knotted at 1-1 when Javier Betancourt reached base on a two-out error in the fifth. West Michigan took advantage of the extra out to jump in front. Rhymes followed with an RBI-double before Ficociello drove him home with a three-base hit, giving the Whitecaps a 3-1 lead that held until the final inning.
The Whitecaps continue a seven-game homestand at Fifth Third Ballpark with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch against the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Friday night. RHP Buck Farmer (2-1, 1.62) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Coby Cowgill (0-0, 0.00) of Fort Wayne. Each day of the seven-game "Dollar Days" homestand will feature a different $1 special. On Friday, kids can get a reserved seat ticket for $1 and the first 50 fans that sign up can throw a first pitch for $1. Season, group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps' front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
Midwest League Stories from April 24, 2014
- Cougars Come Back for Series Victory - Kane County Cougars
- West Michigan Lets Another Late Lead Slip Away - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Loons Fall in Extra Innings to Fort Wayne - Great Lakes Loons
- Dragons Win 3-1, Allow Just Two Hits - Dayton Dragons
- Hawks Streak Ends at Eight; Dragons Win 3-1 - South Bend Silver Hawks
- Araiza Strikes Again as BG Rallies to Beat Whitecaps - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- TinCaps End Skid with 2-1 Win in Extras - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Lugs clobber Captains, 10-2, completing sweep - Lansing Lugnuts
- Lugnuts Sweep Captains with 10-2 Win - Lake County Captains
- Thursday's Game at Peoria Postponed - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Chiefs - Kernels Rained Out - Peoria Chiefs
- River Bandits-LumberKings Postponed Thursday - Quad Cities River Bandits
- LumberKings-River Bandits Postponed - Clinton LumberKings
- Lugnuts Activate Kish, Place Cordero on the DL - Lansing Lugnuts
- Dragons Somsen Promoted to Bakersfield; Amezcua Returning - Dayton Dragons
- Bees take series with 4-1 win over Rattlers - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Grand Slam RV Show Returns to Dow Diamond May 2-4 - Great Lakes Loons
- Gretzky Joins Bees; Aguilera to Inland Empire - Burlington Bees
- Dragons GameDay for April 24 vs. South Bend - Dayton Dragons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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