Power Game Notes
April 7, 2012 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
West Virginia Power (1-1) at Hagerstown Suns (1-1)
Game 3 | April 7, 2012 | Municipal Stadium | Hagerstown, MD
Radio: Power Baseball Network and wvpower.com Airtime: 6:45 pm
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP
RH Matt Benedict (NR) vs. RH Alex Meyer (NR)
Benedict: Pitched exclusively for State College after draft, going 5-3 with a 3.79 ERA over 15 starts
Meyer: Makes his professional debut tonight (First round selection (23rd) of the 2011 draft by WAS)
POWER REPLAY: West Virginia rallied past Hagerstown 5-3 Friday night for its first win of the year. The Suns held a 3-0 lead after two innings without the benefit of a hit, but the Power answered with one run in the third, three in the fourth to take the lead for good. West Virginia added one in the ninth for good measure. Mike Jefferson gained the win, while Emmanuel De Leon notched the save. Alen Hanson paced the offense with his second straight multi-hit game.
NO-HIT BID...BUT: West Virginia pitchers did not allow a base hit until the sixth, but still trailed 3-0 after two innings due to five walks, three wild pitches, and two hit batters. Power pitchers surrendered ten walks; the most in any West Virginia game since the 2009 season.
ROSTER ROULETTE: Pittsburgh promoted two pitchers from Extended Spring Training to the Power staff earlier today and transferred two back to Extended Spring. Orlando Castro pitched at three different levels last season, including seven games with the Power, and Josh Poytress, an 18th round pick in 2011, were promoted to join West Virginia in Hagerstown. Castro and Poytress replace Stetson Allie and Mike Jefferson on the active roster.
HISTORY IS IN THE PAST: West Virginia teams have gotten off to rough starts in five of their seven seasons, regardless of affiliation. Power clubs were 7-18 combined during their first series of each season from 2005 though 2011.
SHOWDOWN IN SUNS TOWN: West Virginia's season-opening series in Hagerstown marks the Power's only trip to Municipal Stadium this season. The Power trail in the all-time series 48-51 and are 25-33 at Hagerstown since the start of the 2005 season.
NEW SKIPPER FOR THE NEW SEASON: West Virginia will be run by a new face in 2012. Rick Sofield takes over as manager this season in his return to professional baseball. Sofield served as the Pirates Minor League Coordinator in 2002 but spent the last five years helping build the baseball program at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort from scratch. Former manager Gary Robinson was promoted to a professional scouting position with Pittsburgh.
COACHING STAFF CHANGES: Pittsburgh has assigned a new coaching staff to the Power for the 2012 season. Willie Glen pitched professionally for ten seasons, including 23 games as a member of the Charleston Alley Cats in 2001, and will serve as West Virginia's pitching coach. Edgar Varela returns to the Power after having spent 2011 with State College. Varela was West Virginia's hitting coach in 2009 and 2010, and returns to that role this year. Vince Harrison played professionally for nine seasons and turns to coaching this season on the Power bench. Harrison's younger brother Josh is a member of the Pirates 40-Man roster.
PROMO UPDATE- APRIL 12: West Virginia will play Greenville and Asheville during its opening homestand from April 12-18 at Appalachian Power Park. To commemorate the home opener next Thursday, the Power will giveaway refrigerator magnets with the 2012 schedule.
POWER POINTS: Copies of the 2012 Media Guide are available upon request... The early season rotation suggests that Matt Benedict will start the home opener on April 12 against Greenville... Trent Stevenson is the only Power reliever who has not pitched during the first two games this season.
AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh was idle and ... Indianapolis opens it's season tonight at Toledo... Altoona beat Erie 7-4. Robbie Grossman had two hits including his first home run of the year... Bradenton edged St. Lucie 3-2 in 11 innings on a bases loaded hit batter.
ON THE AIR: All 140 West Virginia Power games canbe 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.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 7, 2012
- Tourists Split Doubleheader - Asheville Tourists
- Legends Rally to Gain Split - Lexington Legends
- Crawdads Sweep Saturday Doubleheader in Kannapolis - Hickory Crawdads
- Crawdads Sweep Doubleheader in Kannapolis - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Rodriguez and Gnats Master GreenJackets 7-1 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Comeback Comes up Short in 11-6 Loss - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Meyer, Barrett Pitch Suns Past Power - Hagerstown Suns
- Lefties Lift Drive to 11-6 Win Over BlueClaws - Greenville Drive
- Legends Rally for Doubleheader Split - Lexington Legends
- RiverDogs Top Tim Hudson and Rome 2-1 - Charleston RiverDogs
- GreenJackets Outslugged in 7-1 Setback - Augusta GreenJackets
- Hickory Overwhelms Intimidators in Game 1 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- RiverDogs Unveil Kid's Meal at Concession Stand - Charleston RiverDogs
- Rich Hill, Andrew Set to Major League Rehab Appearances with Drive Tonight - Greenville Drive
- Shorebirds Game Notes: at Asheville (Doubleheader) - Delmarva Shorebirds
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.
