Game Notes (July 5)
July 5, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
Following a wild 13-inning win on Independence Day, the Power continues their four-game series with the Lexington Legends Friday evening at Whitaker Bank Ballpark, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Ryne Inman (7-5, 4.45 ERA) heads to the hill for West Virginia, and LHP Evan Steele (2-2, 1.50 ERA) gets the ball for Lexington.
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RAMIZ'S GRAND SLAM CAPS 12-7 WIN: Ryan Ramiz blasted a grand slam in the 13th inning to cap a six-run frame, propelling West Virginia to a 12-7 win over the Lexington Legends Thursday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Power struck first in the opening frame, as Bobby Honeyman delivered a two-out single for a 1-0 lead. Lexington was subdued by Clay Chandler through his six innings of work, as the right-hander did not allow a baserunner until the third and ceded just one run in the fifth on an RBI groundout from Reed Rohlman. West Virginia responded right away, plating three runs in the seventh as Joseph Rosa scored on a wild pitch by Kyle Hinton and Julio Rodriguez plated two runs on a fielder's choice grounder to third and a throwing error by Brhet Bewley. Sal Biasi and Ben Onyshko each turned in a scoreless frame to preserve the 4-1 lead going into the ninth, but the Legends bounced back against Kyle Hill. Freddy Fermin led off with a solo home run, and, three batters later, Rohlman doubled in a pair to tie the game at four. Both teams scored their placed on runners in the 10th and 11th frames before the Power were blanked in the 12th by Andres Nunez. Lexington pushed their runner to third on a sacrifice bunt before Elias Espino walked Jackson Lueck and intentionally walked Rubendy Jaquez to load the bases with one out. However, Bewley grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to thwart the Legends' chance. Daniel James entered in the top of the 13th and immediately issued a wild pitch that pushed Honeyman to third. After Jake Anchia worked a walk, Rosa drilled a double down the right-field line that pushed West Virginia back in front 7-6. James then intentionally walked Manny Pazos to load the bases, but could not find the zone against Charlie McConnell, walking in a run. James fell behind 3-1 to Ramiz, who then stroked his bases-clearing roundtripper 361 feet to make it 12-6 Power. Lexington managed a run in the bottom of the frame, but Espino settled down and struck out Rohlman to pick up his first victory of the season.
RAMPAGING RYAN: Ramiz posted a career-high four RBI last night with his late-inning long ball. The Freehold, N.J., native's fifth home run of the season also slotted in as the Power's third grand slam, joining Dean Nevarez (May 26 vs. Lexington) and Anchia (June 10 vs. Delmarva). West Virginia had not hit a grand slam on the road since Deon Stafford smacked one in Rome August 11, 2018. Ramiz also registered the Power's fourth four-RBI game of the year.
HOME COOKING: Chandler dominated the Legends in his second career pro start in his native state of Kentucky. The La Center, Ky., native hurled six innings of one-run ball, conceding just three hits and striking out eight batters. Chandler notched his first quality start since June 4 at Hickory, when he spun a career-best 8.1 innings. He now has eight quality starts on the season, second only to Steven Moyers (12, tied for the team single-season record). Chandler also joins Moyers as the only two members of the South Atlantic League with 100.0 innings pitched this season. The righty tossed 136.2 innings with the Low-A Clinton LumberKings last year.
THAT TOOK AWHILE: West Virginia's 13-inning affair with Lexington lasted four hours and 20 minutes, the longest game the Power has played this season in terms of time and innings. The last time West Virginia played a game longer than 13 innings and 4:20 was May 3, 2018, when they outlasted the Augusta GreenJackets, 8-7, in a 15-inning, 4:44 marathon at Appalachian Power Park. That 15-inning affair was the longest game in terms of innings in Minor League Baseball last season. Only one other game in the SAL has lasted 13 innings this year, as Hickory beat Charleston 4-3 May 11.
FINALLY GET TO CELEBRATE ON THE FOURTH: With their 12-7 win last night, the Power snagged their first win on Independence Day since 2015, when they took down the Delmarva Shorebirds 5-1. West Virginia also defeated Lexington for just the second time ever on the Fourth of July (2005, 9-5 win), while moving their overall record to 4-10 on America's birthday.
RISING ROSA: Following his 3-for-5 effort with a double, an RBI and two runs scored Thursday, Rosa notched his 19th multi-hit game of the season, the most multi-hit contests by any Power player this year. The infielder has strung together three consecutive multi-hit games, going 7-for-14 with an RBI and five runs scored against Hickory, Lexington and Kannapolis. Rosa had been hitless in his last 10 at-bats prior to this mini surge.
CHI, CHI, CHI, CHIA: After going 2-for-5 with two runs scored Thursday, Anchia extended his season-long on-base streak to 12 games (June 20-present). He has hit safely in all but one of those contests (June 30). Anchia recorded his 11th multi-hit affair of the season Thursday, one of the nine Power batters to have double-digit multi-hit games in 2019. During the second half, the West Virginia backstop is boasting a .298 (14-for-47) clip with two homers and eight RBI.
POWER POINTS: The Power scored 10 runs for the first time since June 25 at Greensboro... West Virginia went 6-for-21 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 men on base.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 5, 2019
- Anderson Has Two-Homer Game in 'Dads Debut - Hickory Crawdads
- Olague Dominates as Rome Defeats Asheville 5-1 - Rome Emperors
- Lexington Powers off West Virginia in 11-7 Victory - Lexington Legends
- Pitching Staff Throws Gem to Give Kannapolis Win in Vaughn's Debut - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Olague Steals the Show, Fires CG against Tourists - Asheville Tourists
- Six-Run Fifth Inning Drowns Power Friday Night - Charleston Dirty Birds
- 'Birds Slide by Suns, Retain Gov's Cup - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Jackets Offense Struggles as Kannapolis Wins 5-0 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Unable to Take Advantage of 'Birds Miscues - Hagerstown Suns
- RiverDogs Offense Goes Flat in Game Two - Charleston RiverDogs
- Drive Blank RiverDogs, 4-0, on Friday - Greenville Drive
- Fireflies Game Notes: July 5 at Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Game Notes (July 5) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- RiverDogs Promise Five-Star, Three-Day Homestand Starting Tuesday - Charleston RiverDogs
- Tourists Hold off Braves 4-3 in Series Opener - Rome Emperors
- Sharp's Eighth-Inning Homer Propels Fireflies to Independence Day Victory - Columbia Fireflies
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