SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on May 23, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Lakewood BlueClaws (21-22) at West Virginia Power (20-22)

Game 43 | May 23, 2011 | Appalachian Power Park | Charleston, WV

Radio: Power Baseball Network and wvpower.com Play-by-Play: Adam Marco

TODAY'S MATCHUP

LH Jesse Biddle (2-5, 4.70) vs. RH Jameson Taillon (1-1, 2.84)

Biddle: Allowed 0 R on 5 H with 4 BB and 8 K over 6.0 IP in 5/18 Win @ DEL (2-0 'Claws)

Taillon: Surrendered 4 R on 7 H with 3 BB and 5 K over 4.0 IP in 5/18-1 Loss @ LEX (4-2 Legends)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia lost 7-3 Sunday afternoon to Lakewood. The BlueClaws scored two runs in the first, two in the second, and added three in the sixth. The Power scored once in the fifth on a sac fly and plated two in the bottom of the ninth. Spot starter Zac Fuesser took the loss for West Virginia, which dropped its third straight game in this series. Eric Avila had two doubles and drove in two runs for the Power.

A GRAND SLAM OF A SCHOOL DAY: The Power host their first of two Grand Slam School Days this morning. The Power are 2-2 when hosting Grand Slam School Days while an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and are 4-9 during that same stretch during games that start before noon.

DIGGING IN VS. THE CLAWS: West Virginia and Lakewood the final game of this four game series today at Appalachian Power Park. The BlueClaws hold the all-time advantage in this match-up with a 46 wins over 78 games. The Power trail at their own yard in this series, going 17-28 at home since 2005. West Virginia and Lakewood will meet a total of 19 times this season after playing 16 times last year.

GIFT TO THE DL: Gift Ngoepe was placed on the disabled list on Saturday prior to the Power game against Lakewood. The infielder has a wrist injury and hadn't played for West Virginia in a week. Ngoepe was batting .306 over 25 games at the time of the injury with two home runs and five runs batted in.

LOPEZ MAKES SAL DEBUT: Porfirio Lopez, added to the West Virginia roster on Saturday when Gift Ngoepe was placed on the disabled list, made his South Atlantic League debut that same night. The left-hander from La Vega, Dominican Republic, had made 11 appearances for Bradenton earlier this season and had never pitched above the Dominican Summer League prior to 2011. Lopez was 3-1 last year in the DSL with an ERA of 1.53 over 13 games, all starts, and was 1-1 for the Marauders with an earned run average of 5.49.

PINPOINT CONTROL: West Virginia pitchers have combined to walk just 83 batters this season, by far the fewest in the league. In fact, Power pitchers have walked the fewest batters in all of professional baseball. Only one other minor league team is under 100 free passes issued. Wilmington pitchers have walked the second fewest in all of baseball with 98 free passes so far this season.

QUARTER MILE POST: On Sunday, May 15, the Power played their 35th game of the 2011 season, putting them one quarter of the way through the schedule. Even at 17-18, the Power were off to their best start in their brief affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates, dating back to 2009. The 2010 club was 15-20 after 35 games, were batting .236, and held a staff ERA of 3.70. The 2009 version were 12-23 with a .256 average, and a 3.42 earned run average. This edition held a team batting average of .262 and a team ERA of 4.06 after 35 games.

POWER POINTS: Brandon Cumpton pitched seven and two-thirds innings on Thursday, the longest outing by any Power starter this season... The Power will make up the May 3 rainout against Greensboro on June 14 at 5:30 pm as part of a doubleheader.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh lost 2-0 to Detroit at PNC Park... Indianapolis slipped past Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre 5-4... Altoona walked-off with a 5-4 win versus Akron... Bradenton lost 4-3 at Lakeland. Quinton Miller took the loss, his fifth of the year.

ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games can be heard on ESPN 104.5 FM and 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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from May 23, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central