SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Game Notes

Published on July 13, 2012 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


West Virginia Power (10-10, 33-57) at Rome Braves (13-7, 31-59)

Games 91 & 92 | July 12, 2012 | State Mutual Stadium | Rome, GA

Radio: ESPN Radio 104.5 FM & 1490 and wvpower.com Air Time- 4:45 p.m.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUPS

Game One: LH Zack Dodson (3-5, 5.73) vs. LH Alex Wood (0-1, 2.25)

Game Two: LH Mike Jefferson (2-6, 5.95) vs. RH Jarrett Miller (5-2, 4.01)

POWER REPLAY: West Virginia and Rome were postponed last night due to the weather and will try to play two this evening. On Wednesday, the Power and Braves played 14 innings spanning two games. Tuesday suspended game was resumed and won by West Virginia 8-4. The nightcap was taken by the Braves 8-2.

DOUBLEHEADER DISH: The Power are 2-2 on true doubleheader days this season. West Virginia split a twinbill at Asheville on May 2, falling 6-3 in game one and winning 5-3 in the second game. Though MLB Advanced Media does not recognize it as a true doubleheader, the Power played a day-night twinbill on May 25. The Power beat the Kannapolis Intimidators 3-2 during a nine inning Grand Slam School Day then fell 12-5 in the Friday evening game.

ROME IF YOU WANT TO: West Virginia and Rome conclude their first series since 2010 tonight. Since 2005, the Power only played the Braves 26 times; the fewest games between West Virginia and any other South Atlantic League opponent. Rome leads the all-time series 14-12 and this theoretical four game set marks the only games between the clubs this season.

OCHO DIAZ! Elias Diaz is riding the longest hitting streak of his career. The Power backstop is batting .344 over an eight-game hitting streak that includes two home runs and seven runs batted in. Diaz's streak matches the fifth longest by any Power player this season and has surpassed a seven-game streak for the VSL Pirates at the beginning of the 2009 season for the longest of his career.

WHEN DODSON DEALS: Zack Dodson is 2-0 since the SAL All-Star break spanning four starts. The southpaw has allowed 10 earned runs over 19.2 innings pitched since the break,has struck out 13, and has only walked five. Since the season resumed on June 21, West Virginia has backed Dodson with 14 runs of support combined over his four starts, three of which have been of the quality variety.

K KINGS: Nick Kingham leads the team with 73 strikeouts over 78.2 innings pitched. Zack Von Rosenberg led the Power in 2011 with 114 over 125.2 innings, Kyle McPherson had 124 in 117.2 innings in 2010, and Gabriel Alvarado had 96 over 114.0 innings in 2009. Should Kingham stay in the rotation on schedule every fifth day, he is on pace to make 10 more starts. That puts the right-hander on pace to match Von Rosenberg's strikeout total from last season, which was third most in team history.

SOSA RETURNS: The Pittsburgh Pirates have transferred Junior Sosa from Bradenton back to the Power roster and released Vince Payne. Sosa batted .171 for the Marauders over 10 games after a June 14 promotion from West Virginia. He was batting .270 in the South Atlantic League after 51 games when he was sent"up" to Florida. Payne was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA this season and 7-4 with a 4.93 ERA during his career. The right-hander was selected by the Pirates in the 12th round of the 2010 draft.

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... Matt Benedict's 3.42 ERA will remain as the clubs best until after Monday's game at Augusta. At that point, the right-hander's 76.1 innings pitched will no longer qualify him among the leaders (0.8 IP per team game). Benedict was promoted to Bradenton during the SAL All-Star break.

AROUND THE ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh opens the second half of the season tonight in Milwaukee... Indianapolis split a doubleheader with Columbus... Altoona edged Akron 3-2... Bradenton beat Brevard County 10-3... State College rallied for a 5-3 win over Staten Island.

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.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 13, 2012


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