SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Dodges Sweep, Returns to .500

Published on June 12, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


(Columbia, SC)- The West Virginia Power beat the Columbia Fireflies 5-2 at Spirit Communications Park on Sunday afternoon. Mitchell Tolman's bases loaded double in the third set the stage for the Power to win the finale and avoid a series sweep.

The Fireflies opened the scoring with a run in the first for the fourth straight game in the series. Vinny Siena singled and advanced on a ground out. With two down, Luis Ortega singled in Siena for a 1-0 Columbia lead.

That lead held until the top of the third inning when West Virginia surged ahead. John Bormann singled, Alfredo Reyes reached on a sacrifice bunt and an error and Tito Polo bunted his way on to load the bases for Tolman. The Power second baseman doubled in all three runners for a 3-1 lead. Ke'Bryan Hayes followed Tolman with a double of his own to extend the lead to 4-1.

Polo lead of the top of the fifth inning with his league-best 11th home run of the season the extend West Virginia's lead to 5-1. Polo a South Atlantic League All-Star Game starter, had a total of 10 home runs combined over the first four years of his career prior to 2016.

Columbia scored the game's final run in the bottom of the sixth against the Power bullpen on two hits.

Bret Helton (3-5) worked five innings for West Virginia, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Cesilio Pimentel allowed a run on two hits over two innings and Sean Keselica pitched the final two innings for his second save of the season. Kevin Canelon (4-4) took the loss for the Fireflies after surrendering all five runs, though only three were earned due to errors.

Polo, Tolman and Hayes had two hits apiece as the Power snap a three game slide and even their record at 31-31.

West Virginia opens a three-game series in Lexington on Monday night at 7:05 P.M. Tanner Anderson will make a spot start for the Power in the series opener.

First Half Record:

31-31

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 12, 2016


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