SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

May 7, 2010 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Kannapolis Intimidators (14-14) at West Virginia Power (11-16)

Game 28 | May 7, 2010 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Play-by-Play: Adam Marco Radio: Power Baseball Network

TODAY'S MATCHUP

RH Terry Doyle (3-1, 1.09) vs. RH Kyle McPherson (1-2, 4.87)

Doyle- Allowed 1 R on 4 H with 0 BB and 11 K over 8.0 IP in 5/01 Win vs. LWD (5-1 KAN)

McPherson- Allowed 7 R (5 ER) on 8 H with 1 BB and 6 K over 4.1 IP in 5/02 Loss @ GRV (9-1 Drive)

THURSDAY: West Virginia took and early lead against Greensboro but faltered late in a 5-3 loss to the Grasshoppers. Aaron Baker drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Rogelio Noris hit a two-run home run to build a 3-0 Power lead after one inning. Greensboro plated a run in the second and two in the fourth to tie the game. In the ninth, the Grasshoppers scored twice against Brandon Holden to close the scoring.

BEEN CAUGHT STEALIN': The Power have caught stealing or picked off 20 times this season, third most in the South Atlantic League. West Virginia base runners have attempted 36 stolen bases this season and have a league-low 16 steals for a 44% success rate. Asheville has 45 stolen bases to lead the league, while Savannah has a SAL-best success rate of 84%. Only Lakewood (28 times in 63 attempts) and Asheville (21 times in 66 attempts) have been caught more than West Virginia this season.

BACK ON TRACK: Jarek Cunningham had two hits in Thursday's loss and snapped five game hitless streak. Cunningham's last base hit came on April 26 at Kannapolis, and then the Power infielder proceeded to go without a base hit in his next 21 at bats. Since appearing in the league's top ten hitters on April 15, Cunningham has seen his average drop from .353 to .277 by going 14 for 60 (.233 average over 15 games).

TOP OF THE ORDER TO YOU: Evan Chambers had an eight game hitting streak from April 26 through May 6. The Power centerfielder hit .357 during the streak, which has partially coincided to his move to the leadoff spot in the batting order. In 12 games since being elevated to the top spot, Chambers is batting .310 and has an on-base percentage of .491 thanks to 14 walks. In those 11 games, West Virginia is 6-6.

RECENT HISTORY: West Virginia beat Kannapolis three times during a four game set from April 25 through April 28. The Power outscored the Intimidators 24-13 during their series at FieldCrest Cannon Stadium in April. West Virginia hit .321 during the series, while Kannapolis hit at a .261 clip. Power hitters banged out 43 hits during the series, compared 30 for the Intimidators. During the current series, five of the eight starting pitchers will get their second look at the opposition, while Melkin Laureano and Justin Collop will get their first appearances of the season series.

POWER POINTS: Power pitchers compiled the seventh best ERA during the month of April at 3.80. Rome had a league-low staff earned run average of 2.71, while Asheville had the league's highest at 4.81... West Virginia is 10-0 when scoring five or more runs in a game this season... Hunter Strickland's seven inning start on Wednesday matched Kyle McPherson's April 26 outing at Kannapolis as the longest by any Power starter this season... Bengie Gonzalez has been held with out a hit in his last six games (0-19 overall since fifth inning single on 4/29).

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh upended the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Thursday... Indianapolis beat Buffalo 9-2... Altoona lost 2-1 at Richmond in 11 innings... Bradenton lost 8-1 at Charlotte.

ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN Radio 1490 AM in Charleston, WV, across the state on the Power Radio Network, and online at milb.com. Adam Marco will call the action for each of the 70 home games this season, while the home team will provide coverage while the Power are on the road.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from May 7, 2010


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