Power bests Lexington Legends 9-4
June 21, 2012 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The West Virginia Power bested the Lexington Legends 9-4 on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park. The Legends led 3-0 after four before the Power bats came to life in the sixth and seventh innings to rally for the victory in the opening game of the second half.
In the second inning, Brandon Meredith hit the very first pitch from Zack Dodson over the wall in left for a 1-0 Lexington lead. The Legends would add two more off Dodson in the fourth on a double by Roberto Pena to build a 3-0 advantage.
Lexington starter Luis Cruz allowed one hit and faced the minimum 15 batters over the first five innings. In the sixth and seventh innings combined, West Virginia sent 15 men to the plate.
In the sixth, Francisco Diaz singled and moved to second on an error. Eric Avila followed with a run-scoring single to break up the shutout at 3-1. Francisco Aponte reached on a fielder's choice and Alen Hanson singled to put runners on first and second. A triple by Taylor Lewis evened the score at three and the Power took the lead when Lewis crossed on a single by Gregory Polanco against a drawn in infield. Polanco then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored the final run of the inning on a passed ball for a 5-3 lead.
West Virginia added four runs in the seventh inning on two-run home runs by Avila and Lewis for a 9-3 edge. Lexington scored once in the ninth against the Power bullpen but could not manage any more offense. Each team finished with 11 hits in the game. Nine of the Legends hits were over the first six innings while ten of the Power's hits came in the sixth inning or later.
Dodson (2-5) earned the win with a quality start, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out five. Cruz (5-4) took the loss after allowing all five sixth inning runs. Robbie Kilcrease earned a hold for the Power with two shutout innings and Clario Perez gave up the ninth inning run while finishing off the game.
Lewis drove four runs, matching Kirk Singer and Gregory Polanco for the most driven in in any one game this season. Avila's home run was his first of the year and the West Virginia third baseman finished with three runs batted in. Four different players had multi-hit games for the Power, which won its third straight game.
West Virginia and Lexington meet again on Friday evening at Appalachian Power Park. Robby Rowland and Luis Ordosgoitti will start for the Power and Legends, respectively. First pitch Friday is slated for 7:05 pm.
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