SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

De Leon Delivers Hurt as 'Dogs Climb Back to .500 Mark

Published on July 24, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, S.C. - Kelvin De Leon clubbed two home runs, tripled, and drove in a career-high tying six runs to propel the Charleston RiverDogs to a 14-0 rout of the West Virginia Power in South Atlantic League action Sunday night in front of a crowd of 2,874 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

The six RBI were the most for a RiverDog since J.R. Murphy drove in nine on August 13, 2010. Charleston moved to 4-1 in the current seven-game homestand and back to the .500 mark at 15-15 this half and 41-59 overall, while West Virginia dropped to 10-20 and 45-53.

Power starter Zac Fuesser (2-4) penned 7.0 innings of one-run ball last week against the RiverDogs, but struggled out of the gate in this one. Charleston jumped all over the southpaw for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the first.

Anderson Feliz got the merry-go-round started with a double on the first pitch he saw, and plated the night's first run on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Mahoney. With the bases clear and two down, the RiverDogs piled on.

First, Gary Sanchez and Ramon Flores tagged consecutive doubles to produce a 2-0 lead. Then De Leon took the spotlight, launching his 13th home run of the campaign well over the left-centerfield fence for a two-run shot and a 4-0 RiverDogs advantage.

The bottom of the Charleston order continued its run-producing ways to up the cushion to 5-0 in the fourth inning. Taylor Grote worked a walk, moved to second on a balk and raced around to score, when Garrison Lassiter expertly lined a pitch the other way down the left field line for a RBI double.

Greene was sharp, but was unable to get through the five innings required for a victory. Mike Recchia relieved the right-hander after 4.1 frames, in which he allowed three hits and a walk while registering one strikeout.

Charleston picked up two more markers to stretch the lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Shane Brown split the left-centerfield alley with a double, and Mahoney drew a walk to force Fuesser from the hill in favor of Justin Ennis. Two outs later, De Leon added on to his banner afternoon with a two-run triple to the right-centerfield gap.

One of the two tallies from the De Leon triple was credited to Fuesser's final line of six runs on six hits and three walks in 4.0+ innings.

The RiverDogs' cushion swelled to 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth, as Jose Mojica walked and was ushered home on a Brown RBI double which one hopped the left-field wall.

Recchia (1-0) was the beneficiary of the offensive onslaught, retiring all five men he faced during the fifth and sixth innings with strikeouts to collect the win.

Three more seventh-inning runs upped the RiverDogs advantage to double digits at 11-0. De Leon was in the center of the action again, belting his second homer of the day for a two-run shot over the left-centerfield scoreboard. Feliz picked up his second hit of the evening four batters later, driving home Lassiter, who had singled for his second base knock.

Mahoney took a page out of De Leon's book in the eighth, smoking a majestic solo shot over the right-field fence for his second round tripper of the campaign. The RiverDogs were not done, though, against Jason Townsend, pushing across two more runs to account for the final 14-0 outcome.

Grote drew a bases loaded walk to drive in a run, and Lassiter notched his second RBI with a run-scoring groundout.

Tommy Kahnle finished it out in the top of the ninth finishing a three-inning save for his second of the campaign, capping an effort which saw three RiverDogs hurlers combine to throw a six-hit shutout.

BALLPARK FUN: The RiverDogs were proud to join Cintas in its Clothe the Kids initiative. Fans that brought five used clothing items to the Cintas truck stationed in front of The Joe helped less fortunate children around the world and received a discounted ticket to the ballgame. It was also another CCPRC Family Sunday, meaning patrons got to "Be Your Own Fan" by taking advantage of our regular FREE PARKING and KIDS EAT FREE Sundays, presented by Pepsi. Rock'N'Roll Chorus - a group of talented high-school musicians - made their return to Charleston and rocked the house with a pregame concert on the field. On Star Wars Night, fans of George Lucas' classic series were able to meet all their favorite characters as lovers of cinema and baseball got their fix. Darth Vader and two storm troopers took part in the first pitch, and all the characters from the Georgia and South Carolina Garrisons of the 501st Legion helped raise money for the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincies, a year-long partner of the RiverDogs.

UP NEXT: The RiverDogs and Power head back to the diamond on Monday night at 7:05 p.m. Jose A. Ramirez (5-3, 4.34 ERA) is expected to wheel and deal for Charleston, against right-hander Zack Von Rosenberg (3-7, 7.04 ERA) of West Virginia.

Being on the cutting edge of social media like Facebook and Twitter is a point of pride for Charleston's favorite professional sports team, and the RiverDogs will reward fans who follow suit on another Social Media Appreciation Night. Facebook, Twitter and Text Club members will all receive a text message offering them one free ticket to the game. Spectators can also enjoy $1 beers in the Ashley View Pub to turn that Monday frown upside down on Hair of the Dog Monday, presented by 98Rock.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 24, 2011


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