Playoff Hopes In Doubt After Loss To Kannapolis
September 2, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
Kannapolis, NC (September 2, 2009) - The Kannapolis Intimidators knocked their magic number down to 2 on Wednesday night at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium as they used a 16 hit attack in the second game of the series to defeat the West Virginia Power 5-1.
West Virginia was held to just six hits on the night, and only three players hit safely. They scored their lone run in the top of the sixth inning when Kyle Morgan's base hit scored Robbie Grossman. Kannapolis built a 2-0 before Morgan's run scoring single in the sixth. Aaron Pribanic retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first but then surrendered three straight hits, including an RBI double to Jon Gilmore which gave the I's an early lead. They added to it in the bottom of the fifth inning when Brandon Short's groundout scored Dan Black.
Kannapolis delivered the knockout punch with two outs in the seventh inning when Luis Sierra belted a two-run homer off of Gabriel Alvarado. The homer was Sierra's third hit of the game. In the eighth inning Black struck again with a run scoring single to plate the final run of the night.
Nevin Griffith (4-5) was outstanding through seven incredible innings. He held the Power to just a run on five hits and struck out two batters in a winning effort. Dan Remenowsky (23) tossed a pair of scoreless innings to earn the save. Aaron Pribanic (3-2) allowed just a pair of runs on 12 hits over five and two-thirds and was tagged with the loss. West Virginia is now four games behind Kannapolis with five games remaining. The Intimidators can clinch the division with a victory over the Power on Thursday night.
West Virginia fell to 64-68 overall, and 37-25 in the second half after the loss, while the Intimidators improved to 79-55 overall and 42-22 in the second half after the win. Robbie Grossman and Kyle Morgan did most of the damage offensively. Grossman paced the Power with a 3-for-4 performance while Morgan went 2-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to seven games. Tony Sanchez extended his on base streak to 18 games with a walk in the fourth inning and Bobby Spain singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to ten games.
West Virginia will finish the three game series with the Kannapolis Intimidators at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium on Thursday night. The Power will start right hander Quinton Miller (2-3, 4.83) and the Intimidators will counter with left hander Joe Serafin (3-1, 2.80). The first pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM.
South Atlantic League Stories from September 2, 2009
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