SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on July 10, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia Power (9-9, 32-56) at Rome Braves (16-6, 30-58)

Game 89 | July 10, 2012 | State Mutual Stadium | Rome, GA

Radio: ESPN Radio 104.5 FM & 1490 and wvpower.com Air Time- 6:45 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

RH Zack Von Rosenberg (2-2, 4.75) vs. RH David Filak (4-7, 5.05)

Von Rosenberg: Allowed 2 R on 5 H with 4 K & 1 BB over 6.0 IP in 7/04 Win vs. LWD (13-2 Power)

Filak: Surrendered 5 R on 8 H with 4 K and 2 BB over 5.0 IP in 7/04 Win @ GVL (13-6 Braves)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia lost an eight inning, rain-shortened game to Lakewood on Sunday by a 7-5 final. The BlueClaws lead 1-0 when Gregory Polanco hit s solo home run in the fourth to tie the game. Lakewood held a 5-1 lead against West Virginia's Ryan Hafner after a Christopher Duffy grand slam in the top of the fifth, but the Power quickly answered with a five hit, four run home half of the inning. Lakewood plated two in the top of the seventh off Mike Jefferson and held that lead when a storm system ended the game in the middle of the eighth. Jefferson took the loss for West Virginia.

VICTORY! Saturday night's Power win last night guaranteed a series win over the BlueClaws. West Virginia has now won four series in 24 chances this year.

ROME IF YOU WANT TO: West Virginia and Rome square off tonight for the first time since 2010. Since 2005, the Power only played the Braves 24 times; the fewest games between West Virginia and any other South Atlantic League opponent. Rome leads the all-time series 13-11 and this four game set marks the only games between the clubs this season. In 2010, the Power and Braves met eight time in late August and early September, splitting a home/ road set 4-4.

DUH DAH DUH: Power pitchers have allowed six grand slams this year, the most by any team in the league. With the bases loaded against them, West Virginia pitchers have walked 14 batters and hit five (most in the league in both categories). Power pitchers have also faced more bases loaded at bats than any other team (110) in the South Atlantic League.

SIETE! Elias Diaz is riding his longest hitting streak this season. The Power backstop is batting .333 over a seven game hitting streak that includes two home runs and six runs batted in. Diaz also had his first multi-RBI game this season during the Lakewood series. He drove in two runs Friday night. Diaz now has 15 runs batted in over 62 games this year after having driven in 45 over 90 2011 contests. Diaz drove in multiple runs in 13 different games while spending all of last season with the Power.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: In 2011, Power pitchers walked 337 batters over the 138 games. So far this season, West Virginia pitchers have walked 338 batters through 88 games (3.8 per game) and are on pace to issue 538 free passes. The league record is well out of reach at 883 (Charleston, SC in 1978).

MORE QUALITY: One night after Zack Dodson's fifth quality start of the year, Robby Rowland notched his fifth as well on Saturday. In 88 games, Power starting pitchers have totaled six or more innings19 times with a 13-6 record in those starts. Not once this season has a pitcher gone six or more and not had a quality start.

PROMO CHECK- JULY 19: West Virginia will host Purple Power Night on July 19. The team will wear purple jerseys that will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting pancreatic cancer research.

POWER POINTS: West Virginia has hit 63 home runs through 88 games this season. The 2011 club hit 63 over 138 games... Wednesday's holiday crowd was 4,564, surpassing Opening Day (3,900) for the largest home attendance figure this year and the biggest at Appalachian Power Park since May 31, 2011 (5,570).

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh is idle during the All-Star Break and will open the second half at Milwaukee on Friday... Indianapolis is off during the Triple-A All-Star break... Altoona edged Binghamton 3-2... Bradenton fell 4-1 at St. Lucie. Casey Sadler took the loss...State College lost 2-1 at Vermont. Samuel Gonzalez drove in the lone Spikes run.

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 July 10, 2012


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