Briceno blasts three home runs as Whitecaps wallop Dragons 14-1

West Michigan Whitecaps outfielder Max Clark avoids being hit by a pitch during their game against the Dayton Dragons earlier this season at Day Air Ballpark. MICHAEL COOPER / STAFF PHOTO

West Michigan Whitecaps outfielder Max Clark avoids being hit by a pitch during their game against the Dayton Dragons earlier this season at Day Air Ballpark. MICHAEL COOPER / STAFF PHOTO

West Michigan’s Josue Briceno blasted three home runs as the Whitecaps topped the Dayton Dragons 14-1 on Thursday night at Day Air Ballpark, taking the first three games of the six-game series.

Briceno became the first West Michigan player to hit three home runs in a game since 2006 as he took over the Midwest League lead in homers on the year with 11.

West Michigan hit five home runs in the game, starting with a solo shot by Briceno in the top of the first inning. Briceno hit his second homer of the night with the bases empty in the fourth to give West Michigan a 2-0 lead.

The two home runs by Briceno were the only two base runners against Dragons starting pitcher Brian Edgington over the first four innings, but the Whitecaps broke the game open with six runs in the fifth inning. Peyton Graham hit a two-run home run to get them started. The next batter, Patrick Lee, also homered to give the Whitecaps back-to-back home runs and push the score to 5-0. Briceno drilled a double off the wall later in the inning as West Michigan extended their lead to 8-0.

The Dragons loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning on a double off the left-center field fence by Myles Smith, a hit batsman, and a single to right by Leo Balcazar. Smith scored from third on a wild pitch to make it 8-1.

But the Whitecaps scored four more runs in the top of the seventh as Briceno hit his third home run of the night, a two-run shot to right-center field. West Michigan added two more runs in the ninth to close out the scoring.

The Dragons collected seven hits including two each by Balcazar and Yerlin Confidan.

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