Whitecaps' smoking bats burn Captains

(Eastlake, OH) - Isaac Paredes led a red hot West Michigan Whitecaps (32-12, 77-34) offense on Tuesday afternoon at Classic Park. Paredes went deep twice in a four-hit performance, as the Whitecaps down the Lake County Captains (19-26, 46-68), 15-7.
The Whitecaps took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first against Captains starter Luis Jimenez . After Danny Woodrow doubled and Cole Bauml singled, Anthony Pereira hit a tapper back to the mound that Jimenez fumbled. Woodrow scored on the error to give West Michigan a 1-0 lead. Paredes then singled to score Bauml to push the lead to 2-0.

Lake County capitalized on a pair of Whitecaps errors in the bottom of the first to score a run. Luke Wakamatsu reached on an error by first baseman Dylan Burdeaux and moved to second on a single by Mitch Longo . Li-Jen Chu then singled to centerfield and Wakamatsu was about to stop at third base, but Derek Hill slipped and fell, allowing the ball to roll past him. Wakamatsu scored on the error to trim the Whitecaps' lead to 2-1.
The Whitecaps exploded for six runs in the third and knocked Jimenez out of the game. After Jimenez walked Bauml to start the inning, Pereira slammed a double to bring him home and Paredes followed with his first homer of the day. Two batters later, Chad Sedio worked a walk and Austin Athmann hit an opposite-field, two-run home run to right field that ended Jimenez's day with the Whitecaps on top, 7-1. West Michigan kept the third-inning rally going against reliever Alsis Herrera . Zac Shepherd singled and scored on a double by Hill that capped the six-run frame and gave the Whitecaps an 8-1 advantage.
The Captains pulled closer in the third inning. Wakamatsu worked a leadoff walk and Conner Capel singled. With one out, Chu roped a two-run double and Michael Tinsley followed with a double that plated Chu. Lake County cut the Whitecaps' lead to 8-4.
Just when the Captains looked like they might mount a comeback, West Michigan pulled away with another big inning in the fourth. Paredes began the frame with a solo homer to left, his second home run of the game and his fourth of the series. Herrera then walked Burdeaux and Sedio doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Athmann came up next and hit a towering pop up in the middle of the infield, but first baseman Jose Vicente dropped the ball to load the bases. Herrera then issued back-to-back walks to Shepherd and Hill that brought home Burdeaux and Sedio. Woodrow then grounded into a fielder's choice at second that allowed Athmann to score. Ryan Colegate came in from the bullpen to relieve Herrera and got the last two outs to end the inning, but a ground out by Bauml allowed Shepherd to score the final run of the five-run frame to give West Michigan a 13-4 lead.
Colegate held serve through the seventh and ended up pitching 3.2 scoreless innings. Neither team scored again until Lake County broke through in the eighth. Miguel Eladio led off with a single against reliever Clate Schmidt and Jorma Rodriguez slammed a triple to bring him home. Jose Vicente then hit a rocket three-run homer over the left field wall to make the score 13-7, Whitecaps.
West Michigan tacked on two final runs in the top of the ninth against reliever Henry Martinez . Hill led off with a double and scored on a single by Bauml. Burdeaux then singled in Bauml to extend the Whitecaps' advantage to 15-7.
Paredes led the Whitecaps' offense, going 4-for-6 with two homers, two singles and four RBI. Every Whitecaps hitter scored in the game and every hitter except Sedio drove home a run.
Whitecaps starter Spenser Watkins took home the win. Watkins (7-2) pitched five innings and surrendered four runs, three of which were earned, on five hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Jimenez (2-6) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs in 2.1 innings. The right-handed starter gave up six hits, hit one batter, walked two and struck out three.
The Captains finished their eight-game home stand with one win and lost four out of five to West Michigan. Lake County will hit the road for an eight-game road trip to Lansing, MI and Bowling Green, KY. After an off day on Wednesday, the Captains face the Lansing Lugnuts on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM at Cooley Law School Stadium.
Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Mini ticket plans for the 2017 season are still available for great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.