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MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Winning Streak Reaches 10 With 21-hit Blowout

August 14, 2010 - Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


COMSTOCK PARK, MI - One night after finishing a perfect seven-game road trip, the West Michigan Whitecaps treated their home fans to a show on Saturday by pounding out a season-high 21 hits in front of a season-high crowd of 10,312 during a 12-3 blowout of the South Bend Silver Hawks at Fifth Third Ballpark.

West Michigan (24-24, 50-67) won their 10th consecutive game to achieve the second double-digit winning streak in franchise history, checking in just two games shy of the franchise-best 12-game stretch established in 1999. The ‘Caps have won 15 of their last 18 ballgames to improve their second-half record to .500 while pulling even with Lansing in the race for the Eastern Division's second-half Wild Card spot.

South Bend (20-27, 50-65) entered play on the heels of a series sweep against first-place Great Lakes, but the Whitecaps quickly asserted control.

After taking the lead on a run-scoring single by Hernan Perez with two outs in the second, West Michigan sent 12 men to the plate during a seven-run explosion in the third inning.

There was one out when the Whitecaps strung together five consecutive hits, powered by consecutive run-scoring doubles from Wade Gaynor and Tony Plagman. Rob Brantly, Perez and Corey Jones also contributed run-scoring singles as the ‘Caps used eight hits and took advantage of a pair of errors to seize an 8-0 lead.

The score was 9-1 when West Michigan went back to work in the late innings. After another RBI-double from Gaynor in the seventh gave the Whitecaps a double-digit run total, Michael Rockett added a two-run single in the eighth that made it a 12-1 ballgame.

Rockett's late hit assured that all nine Whitecaps position players registered a hit on Saturday. Corey Jones led the attack with a 4-for-5 effort - his second four-hit game in the last week - while Gaynor, Plagman and Avisail Garcia collected three hits apiece and seven different Whitecaps registered multi-hit games. Plagman's line featured two doubles as he celebrated his 23rd birthday in style, while Brantly extended his hitting streak to a team-high 16 games.

Pitchers Trevor Feeney and Kevan Hess took care of the rest.

Feeney (10-11) turned in his 18th quality start of the year in 25 outings, tossing six solid innings of one-run baseball. He scattered seven hits while fanning two and walking one. The free pass he issued with two outs in the first inning was his first walk since July 18, ending a string of 31.1 consecutive walkless innings that spanned more than four starts and nearly reached a full month in length.

Hess (1) pitched the final three innings for his first Midwest League save, holding the Silver Hawks without a hit in the seventh and eighth innings before allowing a pair of runs in the ninth.

Adam Worthington (3-5, 5.53) suffered the loss for South Bend after getting knocked around for eight runs - five earned - on 11 hits in just three innings of work.

The Whitecaps continue their second-to-last homestand of the season on Sunday, August 15, with a 1:00 p.m. game against the South Bend Silver Hawks at Fifth Third Ballpark. LHP Jared Wesson (5-1, 2.40) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP Diogenes Rosario (4-6, 4.01) of the Silver Hawks. In addition to a Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Family Day, there will also be a special appearance by American Idol star and Michigan native Matt Giraud. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting whitecapsbaseball.com.

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