SOUTH BEND, Ind. (June 15, 2014) — When it was all on the line, the West Michigan Whitecaps were led by the same thing that had them in a position to win a division title coming into the game: stellar pitching.
Kevin Ziomek threw 5.2 innings of four-hit, one-run ball – and Joe Mantiply and Zac Reininger combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to get the Whitecaps a 4-1 win against South Bend on Sunday. The victory clinched the franchise’s first division title since 2007. The Whitecaps had clinched their first postseason berth since 2010 earlier in the week.
The game was a de facto Eastern Division championship game; the Whitecaps trailed the Silver Hawks by a half-game in the standings coming into Sunday.
Jose Zambrano had a two-run single in a four-run sixth for the Whitecaps. Wynton Bernard and Dominic Ficociello both had two hits for West Michigan.
The Midwest League shifts its focus to Comstock Park for the next few days for the league’s 50th All-Star Game. The Whitecaps have seven representatives – the most of any team in the MWL.
