GENEVA, IL –Wynton Bernard drilled a tie-breaking double with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the West Michigan Whitecaps to a 2-1 win on Monday, completing a three-game sweep against the Kane County Cougars in a battle of first-place teams at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in suburban Chicago.
WHITECAPS 2, COUGARS 1
Next game: West Michigan's Chad Green vs. Lake County's Caleb Hamrick at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Fifth Third Ballpark
Radio: WBBL-FM (107.3)
West Michigan (24-12, 65-41) climbed to a season-high 24 games over .500 with the win, finishing their road trip at 5-1 and claiming their 10th series sweep of the year. It was the first series loss at home this season for Kane County (22-14, 67-39), who entered the weekend with a remarkable 41-12 record on their home turf.
For the second straight afternoon, the Midwest League’s two top-rated pitching staffs went toe-to-toe in a dramatic pitchers’ duel.
The game was tied at 1-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth when the Whitecaps mounted the game-winning rally. It started with a big hit from Austin Schotts, who shrugged off an 0-for-19 slump on the road trip with a looping double to left-center field. Moments later, Bernard turned on a 1-1 pitch and drove a liner over the shortstop, plating Schotts for a 2-1 advantage with the game-winning double.
Julio Felix (11) quickly dispatched of the Cougars with three straight groundouts in the bottom of the ninth, securing his second save of the series and his team-leading 11th of the year.
Montreal Robertson (6-5) earned the win out of the bullpen. He was charged with one unearned run on three hits over two innings, blowing the save but striking out three without issuing a walk.
Kevin Ziomek racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts on Monday, giving him 24 punch-outs over his last two starts.
Earlier in the afternoon, Whitecaps’ starter Kevin Ziomek dominated the action with a career-high 13 strikeouts over six shutout innings. He allowed just four hits with three walks, striking out the side in three different innings to improve upon his previous career-high of 11 strikeouts set during his last start.
The Cougars’ Daury Torrez was nearly as effective, carrying a shutout into the sixth before completing six full innings with one run allowed on five hits. Neither starter figured into the decision despite the impressive performances.
The game was scoreless until the Whitecaps broke through against Torrez in the top of the sixth. Javier Betancourt reached base on an infield single and Raph Rhymes followed with a liner to left. Outfielder Shawon Dunston, Jr. tried to make a diving catch, but he missed the ball and it rolled all the way to the wall. Betancourt scored from first on the RBI-double for a 1-0 lead.
After Ziomek’s departure, Kane County answered with an unearned run in the seventh against Robertson. Trey Martin reached base on an infield single, but advanced to second when the bag was left unattended before the umpires ruled the play dead. Moments later, Dunston doubled him home to tie the score at 1-1.
The Whitecaps return to Fifth Third Ballpark on Tuesday night to open a six-game homestand with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch against the Lake County Captains. RHP Chad Green (3-4, 3.53) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Caleb Hamrick (3-5, 6.56) of Lake County in a game that will feature 10-cent hot dogs, entertainment from the ZOOperstars and the Van Andel Institute's Purple Night. Season, group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps' front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
Click here to view the box score.