APPLETON, WI – The West Michigan Whitecaps came up big at the plate and on the mound in clutch situations as they beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers by a score of 6-4 on Wednesday night at Fox Cities Stadium.
At the plate, Andre Lipcius led the way with a 3-for-4 performance with a career-high three stolen bases, a run scored, a walk, and an RBI. On the mound, the Whitecaps struck out a season-best 16 Wisconsin batters, including eight straight as part of their first back-to-back victories in the 2021 season.
The Whitecaps scored first for the second consecutive game in this series, as a pair of solo home runs by Bryant Packard and Rey Rivera put West Michigan in front by a score of 2-0. After the Timber Rattlers plated a run in the second, the ‘Caps tallied single runs in the third and fifth. Run-scoring singles by Andre Lipcius and Daniel Cabrera preceded a sacrifice fly by Spencer Torkelson to take a 6-2 lead heading midway through the seventh.
West Michigan reliever Jared Tobey gave up back-to-back leadoff singles before walking the next two batters to force home a Wisconsin run in the bottom of the inning. The Michigan native locked in to strike out a pair of talented Timber Rattlers in shortstop David Hamilton and designated hitter Thomas Dillard before being replaced by Angel Reyes, who finished the fantastic seventh inning tightrope walk by striking out third baseman Gabriel Garcia to end the threat.
The three strikeouts to end the seventh sparked a string of eight consecutive batters retired on strikes from the seventh inning through the second out of the ninth – the longest streak of its kind this season.
Whitecaps starting pitcher Chance Kirby lasted three innings and gave up only a single run before Zac Shepherd (1-0) tossed a pair of scoreless frames to earn his first win as a ‘Caps pitcher since making a move from being a position player back in 2019. Timber Rattlers starter Reese Olson (1-1) gave up three runs on seven hits in four innings to suffer his first loss of the 2021 campaign. Closer Zack Hess entered from the West Michigan bullpen and gave up a run in the ninth before finishing the job and collecting his first save of the season. The Whitecaps record climbs within a game of .500 at 6-7 while the Timber Rattlers fall to 6-8.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game set against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Wednesday at 7:35 pm. The Whitecaps have Beau Brieske slated to start on the mound against the Timber Rattlers Zach Mort. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 7:20 pm. A limited number of tickets are available for select Whitecaps 2021 home contests by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.
