[dropcap]K[/dropcap]evin Ziomek had another solid start for the West Michigan Whitecaps and his teammates provided enough offense for a 3-2 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night at Cooley Law School Stadium.
West Michigan (30-18, 71-47) had a 3-0 lead by the fifth inning before having to hold of a late rally by Lansing (21-27, 53-64).
Most of the offense came from Wynton Bernard and Javier Betancourt, the top two hitters in West Michigan’s lineup.
Bernard led of the first inning with a double to right field before eventually advancing to third and scoring on back-to-back groundouts. In the third inning, the speedster reached base on a two-out walk and later scored when Betancourt doubled off the left field wall. Betancourt would add another RBI in the fifth inning when a bloop single to left-center scored Arvicent Perez to give the Whitecaps a 3-0 lead.
Bernard and Betancourt combined to reach base in four of their six plate appearances through the first five innings, collecting two doubles, two runs and two RBI. With another solid day at the plate, Bernard improved his league-leading batting average (.329), runs scored (84) and total hits (143).
Ziomek was dominant again for the Whitecaps on Saturday, allowing one run on three hits over six innings while striking out eight and issuing one walk. The 22-year-old lefty faced the minimum through the first five innings and allowed only one hit into the sixth inning, lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.31 and tying the league-lead with 127 strikeouts.
After a two-out double by Chris Schaeffer in the sixth inning, David Harris hit a comebacker to the mound that hit Ziomek in the arm and shot through the right side of the infield, allowing Schaeffer to score Lansing’s first run of the game.
Julio Felix (13) entered in the seventh inning for the Whitecaps, but allowed a run after Matt Dean eventually came around to score after a leadoff double, giving the Whitecaps a slim 3-2 lead.
Felix was able to rebound nicely to close out the game, retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced to preserve the 3-2 victory. He allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in three innings to earn the save.
Despite throwing a nine-inning no hitter against the Whitecaps with the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2013, Lansing’s Brad Allen (3-5) took the loss while allowing three runs on six hits in five innings.
West Michigan will 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 the Whitecaps against RHP Miguel Castro (0-1, 11.25) of the Lugnuts.[dropcap]…[/dropcap]
