Luke Adcock, looking for his first save in his second save opportunity, recorded two outs, then walked ninth-place hitter Archer Brookman. Then the speedy Seth Stephenson hit a grounder at third baseman Carter Graham.
The final out and victory appeared imminent. But Graham let the ball play him, retreated a step and the ball bounced off his glove for an error. Hot-hitting Kevin McGonigle was next and walked on four pitches.
Into the left-handed side of the batters box stepped Briceno, the man who hit three homers against the Dragons on Thursday night. Briceno did not disappoint his teammates. He launched a 109 mph grand slam on Adcock’s first pitch, a 93 mph fastball, down the right-field line and into the netting that guards the street.
The Dragons couldn’t score in the bottom of the ninth and West Michigan’s 7-4 victory meant another crushing defeat for the Dragons, who have lost five games when leading after the seventh inning.
“I got nothing,” manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “We had chances, and we gave it away. That’s all I got.”
Dayton’s nightmare loss was like a happy nursery rhyme for the Whitecaps. Briceno’s rocket into the night sky didn’t exactly reach the moon, but the feeling went something like this: The cowhide jumped over the moon, the big slugger laughed to see such sport, and the Whitecaps ran away with the win.
The Dragons (17-33) have had a particularly difficult time against West Michigan, losing eight of 11 so far this season. The six-game series concludes Sunday.
Until the fateful ninth inning, the Dragons played their best game of the week.
Struggling Carlos Jorge hit his fifth homer of the season to begin the second inning for a 1-0 lead. The Whitecaps pieced together a three-run rally in the bottom of the second against starter Jose Montero. But Montero for two more innings and Thomas Farr and Carson Rudd for two innings each shut down the Whitecaps.
The Dragons chipped away at the lead. Leo Balcazar’s RBI double in the third and John Michael Faile’s RBI single in the fourth tied the score. In the sixth, Connore Burns hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead.
In the fourth, defense carried the Dragons. Shortstop Leo Balcazar made perhaps his best play of the season on a ground ball to his right and threw out Patrick Lee at first. And catcher Connor Burns pounced a tapper toward third and threw out a runner trying to advance from second.
A much-needed victory this week following losses of 14-1 and 13-2 seemed secure with two outs in the ninth. But the Whitecaps said no. And Briceno, with his 12 home runs and 37 RBIs, made another case to be promoted to AA.
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