SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Rally for Victory

June 25, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


Greensboro, NC (June 25, 2009) - The West Virginia Power trailed by four runs entering the ninth inning of Thursday night's game at NewBridge Bank Park, but scored eight times in the final frame to walk away with an 11-10 victory in a back-and-forth battle with the Grasshoppers.

Calvin Anderson picked up right where he left off on Tuesday night as he began the second inning with a solo homer, his eighth of the year. The Power took a 3-0 lead in the third on run scoring singles from Robbie Grossman and Bobby Spain. Greensboro began their comeback in the fifth inning when Isaac Galloway's sacrifice fly plated Justin Jacobs. The Grasshoppers then scored six times in the seventh inning to take the lead. Galloway drove in the first run on an RBI single and Paul Gran reached on Danny Bomback's fielding error which allowed Jacobs to score. Ben Lasater walked with the bases loaded to plate the next run before Jake Smolinski and Kyle Skipworth ripped back-to-back RBI singles. Jacobs was hit by a pitch with the bases full to plate the final run of the inning.

West Virginia put together an incredible run in the ninth inning to take the lead for good. Adenson Chourio, Austin McClune and Grossman all walked to start the inning. Erik Huber ripped a two-run double before Robbie Grossman scored on a wild pitch. Anderson followed Huber with a walk, and they both scored on Quincy Latimore's triple to give them the lead. Danny Bomback stepped in with runners at the corners and one down, and hit a groundball back the pitcher Pete Andrelczyk. Andrelczyk threw the ball into center field, and the ball rolled past center fielder Isaac Galloway, allowing Bomback, Spain and Andrew Walker to score.

The Grasshoppers made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Lasater and Smolinski began the inning on back-to-back walks, and they both scored on a two-out double from Jacobs. Jacobs scored the game's final run later in the ninth on Paul Gran's infield single. The bases were loaded with two outs when Jeremy Synan ended the game by grounding out to Bomback at second base. The victory marked the first win for West Virginia when trailing after eight innings this year.

Wilson Ortiz (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory and Owen Broslma (2) retired the final batter of the game to snag the save. Andrelczyk, (0-2) who had converted on his first 12 save opportunities this season, allowed six runs in the ninth inning and was tagged with the loss. After two shaky starts, Rafael De Los Santos pitched five strong innings for the Power, allowing just a run on two hits.

West Virginia improved to 28-43 overall, and 1-0 in the second half after the win, while the Grasshoppers fell to 37-34 overall and 0-1 in the second half after the loss. Bobby Spain paced the Power with a 4-for-5 performance while Austin McClune and Danny Bomback chipped in with two hits a piece. Every Power batter reached base in the contest, including Robbie Grossman who has now reached in 17 straight games.

West Virginia will continue the four game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at NewBridge Bank Park on Friday night. The Power will start right hander Brian Leach (1-0, 2.28) and the Grasshoppers will counter with left hander Brad Hand (3-7, 5.93). The first pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM.

Check out the Charleston Dirty Birds Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2009


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