West Michigan Downs Chiefs in 12-4 Rout Wednesday

Peoria, IL – In a contest that featured 16 combined runs and 30 hits, it was the Whitecaps who saw their offense stay hot under the blazing June sun at Dozer Park, as they picked up a 12-4 win on Wednesday.

West Michigan came out swinging for the second consecutive day, lighting up the scoreboard for three first inning runs yet again after the Peoria starter, Austin Love, worked himself into a major jam. Austin Murr kicked off the scoring festivities with a ringing three-RBI double that cleared the bags and put the Whitecaps up 3-0 after a half inning.

After West Michigan added another run in the top of the inning, the Chiefs responded by scratching their first run home in the bottom of the third when Mike Antico sent a double to the left field wall that scored Tommy Jew and made it a 4-1 score.

The Whitecaps continued to play add on, scoring a run in the next three straight innings thanks to a wild pitch, and a pair of doubles from Jose King and Austin Murr. The visitors emerged from that sequence with a 7-1 lead through six innings of play.

The Chiefs made a bit of noise in their part of the seventh, plating two runs to add a bit of intrigue to the ballgame. Todd Lott hit a sharp ground ball back to the mound, but an error on the back end of a double play attempt allowed Antico to scamper around third and head to the plate. Two batters later, Francisco Hernandez drove a base hit into center field that scored Todd Lott and made it a 7-3 game.

The two teams traded runs in the eighth, and with the score 8-4, West Michigan piled on four more runs in the ninth. Back-to-back knocks from Bryant Packard and Trei Cruz made it 10-4. A wild pitch and sac fly finished off the scoring before Peoria went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth to cap off a 12-4 winner for the Whitecaps.

Peoria drops to 25-34 on the year in defeat, while West Michigan elevates to 28-31. First pitch is penciled for 6:35 p.m. tomorrow evening from Dozer Park. Logan Gragg will start for Peoria, while the Whitecaps are set to send Kaider Montero to the hill.