Gac Blast Fever: Kings Sweep 'Caps

Clinton, IA - Thanks to another home run by Ian Gac and a strong spot start from right-hander Kennil Gomez, the Clinton LumberKings did something they had never done before - sweep the West Michigan Whitecaps. Gac's two-run bomb to left highlighted a 2-for-4 showing at the plate, and Gomez scattered four hits over 6.0 innings as the Kings won 6-2 Sunday afternoon.

Gac came to the plate in the bottom of the first with Engel Beltre already aboard. Whitecaps starter Jon Kibler left a pitch out over the plate that Gac drove onto the berm in left for his league-leading fifth home run in seven games.

Gomez (W, 1-0) made the lead stand, yielding just one unearned run in the second. An error by third-baseman Jonathan Greene on a ground ball by Cory Middleton allowed Chris Carlson to scamper home from third, cutting Clinton's lead in half.

The score remained 2-1 until the Kings broke the game wide open in the seventh. With right-hander Wilton Garcia on the mound, Andres James started the damage by beating out an infield single. James then swiped second and went to third on a throwing error charged to 'Caps catcher Jordan Newton. Beltre let loose with a ringing double to right, plating James, and Gac delivered another RBI with a chop single through the left side of the infield.

Side-arming right-hander Rudy Darrow came on as Garcia worked just a third of an inning. Darrow fared no better, walking Cristian Santana to load the bases. Tim Smith then lofted what looked to be a potential grand slam to right, but right-fielder Casper Wells leaped at the wall and kept the baseball in play. However, as he slammed into the wood wall, the ball was jarred free, scoring Matt Lawson and loading the bases once more. A wild pitch by Darrow brought Gac home, making it 6-1.

West Michigan scratched out a run in the ninth against Adalberto Flores, but the big right-hander was able to retire Middleton with a pair of runners on base to end the game. Right-hander Ryan Tatusko also tossed a scoreless inning.

Clinton compiled 11 hits on the day to finish their first sweep of the Whitecaps since the team's inception in 1995. Aside from Gac's monster day, Smith chipped in three hits, finishing 3-for-4. Santana went a perfect 2-for-2 with a walk, and Beltre scored twice, going 1-for-4. The LumberKings also stole a season-high four bases.

The win is also the seventh straight for the Kings, matching the season-high streak posted by last year's club.

The LumberKings (7-1) open up a home series with their rivals to the south, the Quad Cities River Bandits (5-5) on Monday evening at 7:00 PM. Listen to the game on AM 1340 KROS in Clinton or live on the web at www.lumberkings.com.