Wynton Bernard his a home run in yesterday’s game. He mentioned on Twitter it was for his father, who passed away four years ago. Pit file photo
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he West Michigan Whitecaps might be built around pitching and defense, but they can hit for power when they need to, as was the case on Saturday when they hit four home runs to defeat the Fort Wayne TinCaps by a final score of 8-4 at Parkview Field.
After winning the division in the first half of the season, West Michigan (10-6, 51-35) hasn’t slowed down, winning seven of their last nine games while Fort Wayne (5-11, 35-50), lost their eight straight contest.
The four home runs for West Michigan ties a season-high, matching their four-homer performance on June 1 against the TinCaps at Parkview Field.
Austin Schotts put the Whitecaps on the board with a lead-off home run to left field. The TinCaps responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame when Jake Bauers hit a RBI double which was followed by a two-run home run by former Whitecap Adolfo Reina to give the TinCaps a 3-1 lead.
Fort Wayne still had a 3-1 lead entering the top of the fourth when West Michigan started the biggest rally of the day. Fort Wayne reliever Erik Cabrera issued a pair of one-out walks before Willly Adames drilled a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence for a three-run home run. Two batters later, Jose Zambrano hit his first home run of the season as the Whitecaps extended their lead to 5-3.
West Michigan added two more runs with a two-out rally in the fifth. After Jeff Holm hit a RBI double off the right field wall, Grayson Greiner drove him in with a single to give the ‘Caps a 7-3 lead.
The score was 7-4 when Wynton Bernard hit the fourth and final Whitecaps’ home run of the game, launching a solo shot into the left-field corner and giving the ‘Caps an 8-4 lead.
Austin Kubitza (7-1) earned the win for West Michigan, allowing four runs – three earned – on five hits over five innings. After giving up three runs in the first, the tall right-hander did not allow an earned run for the rest of the game.
Reliever Julio Felix (6) turned in his best performance of the season, pitching four innings without allowing a single base runner and striking out five.
Cabrera (3-7) took the loss for Fort Wayne, allowing four runs on two home runs in the only inning he pitched.
The Whitecaps continue their series against Fort Wayne today with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch at Parkview Field. RHP Jon Maciel (4-3, 3.07) is scheduled to start for West Michigan against RHP Kyle Lloyd (2-3, 4.72) of Fort Wayne.
