LocalSportsJournal.com
COMSTOCK PARK- – Pitcher Keider Montero enjoyed one of his best starts of the season as the West Michigan Whitecaps two-hit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a 5-0 shutout victory in front of 6,294 fans Friday night at LMCU Ballpark.
Montero retired the first 14 batters he faced, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing two hits, no walks, and striking out five hitters in the shutout victory. Meanwhile, Whitecaps pitchers combined to hold Wisconsin hitless in four at-bats with runners in scoring position.
West Michigan struck first in the second inning as Josh Crouch scored Bryant Packard on an RBI double, putting the Whitecaps in front 1-0.
The Whitecaps added to their lead in the third, as Packard added his second RBI before a wild pitch plated Jake Holton to increase the lead to 3-0.
The Whitecaps plated a single run in the fifth before Holton lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh, increasing the lead to 5-0.
Wisconsin didn’t record a hit past the fifth inning as Gabe Sequeira, Ted Stuka, Gio Arriera, and Andrew Magno combined for four shutout innings with two strikeouts to secure the 5-0 victory.
Montero (5-4) picked up his fifth win as Timber Rattlers starter Justin Bullock (0-1) suffered his first loss, allowing four runs through five innings pitched.
The Whitecaps improve to 45-40 and 14-5 in the second half, while the Timber Rattlers fall to 45-39 and 12-7 in the second half. The Whitecaps are five games above .500 for the first time this season as Crouch extended his hitting streak to 12 games, just three short of tying Colt Keith (15) for the longest this year. The shutout marks the tenth time this season that West Michigan has held their opponents off the scoreboard in a contest.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps play the fifth game of this this six-game series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Saturday at 6:35 pm. Lefty Brant Hurter, a Detroit Tigers Top-30 Prospect, takes the mound for West Michigan against Timber Rattlers pitcher Justin Jarvis. Broadcast coverage starts on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:35 pm. Get your tickets for all 2022 home games now at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
