Whitecaps won homestand-opener against Lake County Captains Thursday night. Photo by Victoria Walenga.
After falling behind 2-0 to the Lake County Captains, the West Michigan Whitecaps responded by scoring five unanswered runs on Thursday night, winning by a final score of 5-2 in the opener of their current seven-game homestand.
West Michigan (24-16) pitchers were dominant once again, as Kevin Ziomek and Matt Davenport not only combined to have 13 strikeouts, but also limited the Captains (11-29) to just four singles.
The Whitecaps trailed 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning, but rallied with two outs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.
With runners on first and second, Tyler Gibson hit a ground-rule double over the fence in deep right-center field. Willy Adames quickly followed with a two-run single up the middle, giving the ‘Caps a 3-2 lead.
From the fifth inning on, Lake County was unable to get another runner in scoring position, eliminating any chance of a late rally for the Captains.
Ziomek (3-3) earned the win for the Whitecaps, matching his career-high with nine strikeouts while allowing two runs in three hits in 5.2 innings. Ziomek was dominant early in the game, striking out seven of the first 10 batters he faced.
Ziomek’s only struggle came in the top of the fourth when a pair of singles put runners on the corners for Lake County. A throwing error by Ziomek on a pickoff attempt would allow one runner to score, and a subsequent balk would allow the other baserunner to come home. Ziomek then walked the next two batters before pitching 2.2 innings without allowing a hit.
Davenport (1) entered in the top of the sixth inning and retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced to earn his first save of the year. Davenport struck out four batters while allowing no walks and just one hit.
West Michigan would add two insurance runs late in the game. The first being scored after three singles in the seventh, with a run scoring on a base hit by Raph Rhymes. In the eight inning, a double by Bennett Pickar was able to score Adames from first, giving the Whitecaps a 5-2 lead.
Mitch Brown (0-6) took the loss for Lake County, allowing three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings.
The Whitecaps will look to continue their winning ways at Fifth Third Ballpark on Friday with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch against the Captains. RHP Chad Green (0-1, 3.80) is scheduled to pitch for the Whitecaps against RHP Robbie Aviles (0-1, 1.47) of the Captains.
