MWL1 West Michigan Whitecaps

Ziomek Deals, Caps Hold On For 3-2 Win

Published on August 9, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
West Michigan Whitecaps News Release


LANSING, MI - Kevin Ziomek turned in another dazzling pitching performance and the top of the West Michigan Whitecaps' batting order provided just enough run support to hold on for a 3-2 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.

West Michigan (30-18, 71-47) took a 3-0 lead by the fifth inning and then staved off a late Lansing (21-27, 53-64) rally. The Whitecaps will close out their seven-game road trip with the finale of their four-game series against the Lugnuts on Sunday afternoon.

The early lead was generated in large part by Wynton Bernard and Javier Betancourt, the top two hitters in the West Michigan lineup.

Bernard led off the first inning with a double to right field before a pair of groundouts brought him home. In the third inning, the speedy leadoff man coaxed a two-out walk and then scored from first when Betancourt drilled a double off the left field wall. Betancourt was at it again in the fifth inning, looping a two-out single to left-center that plated Arvicent Perez for a 3-0 advantage.

The duo reached base in four of their six plate appearances through the first five innings, combining for two doubles, two runs and two RBI. Betancourt was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI while Bernard improved his league-leading figures for batting average (.329), runs scored (84) and total hits (143).

At that point, it was up to the pitching and defense to protect the three-run advantage.

Ziomek (9-6) was excellent once again on Saturday, allowing just one run on three hits over six innings and striking out eight with one walk. The 22-year-old southpaw faced the minimum through his first five innings and carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth, lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.31 and moving into a tie for the league-lead with 127 strikeouts.

But after a two-out double by Chris Schaeffer in the sixth inning, David Harris bounced a comebacker to the mound that struck Ziomek in the upper arm and caromed through the right side of the infield, allowing Schaeffer to score Lansing's first run.

After Julio Felix (13) took over for West Michigan in the seventh, Matt Dean ripped a leadoff double down the third base line. Two groundouts later, he came home to score and the Lugnuts pulled within 3-2.

But Felix held firm, retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced to finish the game. He allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in three innings to earn the save.

Lansing's Brad Allen (3-5), who threw a nine-inning no-hitter against the Whitecaps while a member of the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2013, was saddled with the loss. Allen was charged with three runs on six hits in five innings.

The Whitecaps wrap up their seven-game road trip on Sunday afternoon with a 2:05 p.m. first pitch against the Lansing Lugnuts. RHP Chad Green (5-4, 3.47) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Miguel Castro (0-1, 11.25) of Lansing. The next home game at Fifth Third Ballpark is a Dime Dog Night on Tuesday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. 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 August 9, 2014


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