Power Bested by Rome in Tuesday Pitcher's Duel
April 24, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
CHARLESTON, WV - Domingo Robles turned in another stellar outing on Tuesday, but his five shutout innings were overshadowed by a ninth-inning home run from Drew Lugbauer that vaulted Rome to a 2-0 win over West Virginia in the series opener at Appalachian Power Park.
Entering the ninth inning, Adam Oller (1-1) had set down 12 of the 13 batters he had faced in his outing. He induced a ground out from Riley Delgado and struck out Jefrey Ramos in the final frame, but walked Jean Carlos Encarnacion to set the stage for Lugbauer. Oller concluded his appearance with a season-best four innings pitched and four strikeouts.
Rome (10-7) reliever Freddie Tarnok (2-0) picked up the win after allowing just one hit and one walk over two innings before ceding the ball to Kelvin Rodriguez (S, 1), who picked up the save in the ninth.
Robles continued the Power's stretch of phenomenal starting pitching, tossing five frames and setting down seven batters via the strikeout. He allowed only two hits, but received a no-decision after an equally impressive start from Braves starter Alan Rangel, who struck out a season-high eight men over four innings.
Both teams threatened to score in the eighth by getting a runner to third base, but neither was able to push a run across. In the top of the inning, Kurt Hoekstra reached second on a fielding error from Oneil Cruz. Oller then beared down to strike out Izzy Wilson, got Jose Bermudez to ground one back to him and punched out Derian Cruz. Meanwhile, Ryan Peurifoy led off the bottom of the inning with a double, but was stranded at third after Calvin Mitchell and Deon Stafford struck out swinging to end the frame.
Mitchell, however, did extend his hitting streak to nine games and his on-base streak to 11 games with a sixth-inning single. Over his nine-game stretch, the Power (10-8) outfielder is batting .436 (17-for-39) with a home run and nine RBI.
The Power continue their four-game series with Rome on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. with a doubleheader. RHP Travis MacGregor (1-1, 0.73 ERA) heads to the hill against Rome righty Jasseel De La Cruz (1-2, 0.64 ERA), while Evan Piechota (1-0, 1.29 ERA) gets the call in game two against Braves southpaw Bruce Zimmermann (2-1, 4.50 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at www.wvpower.com, via the TuneIn Radio App and the MiLB First Pitch App.
Wednesday is Pets in the Park Night at Appalachian Power Park. You can purchase a pet pass for $3.00 or you can buy a Pets in the Park pass that will include six box seat tickets and six pet passes for $60. All proceeds from the pet passes will go to charity. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.
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