Rodriguez Homers as Power Falls to Kannapolis
June 28, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Julio Rodriguez deployed his third home run of the season as West Virginia fell to the Kannapolis Intimidators, 7-4, Friday night at Appalachian Power Park.
Kannapolis (5-4, 33-44) struck first in the opening frame, as Ian Dawkins cranked a leadoff homer on the second pitch he saw to hand the Intimidators a 1-0 lead. West Virginia (4-5, 41-38) would respond in the home half of the frame, as Bobby Honeyman ripped an RBI single and Onil Pena lofted a sacrifice fly that thrust the Power ahead 2-1.
The back-and-forth affair continued, as the Intimidators tied things back up at two in the second on an RBI groundout Michael Hickman. In the third, Rodriguez clanked his long ball 413 feet off the scoreboard to put West Virginia back on top 3-2. The next half inning saw Kannapolis answer in the form of a Hickman solo homer to knot things up at three.
After a scoreless inning from both starting pitchers in the fifth, Josias De Los Santos (0-5) entered in the sixth and ran into trouble early. The 19-year-old walked three batters, surrendered four runs on three hits and left after recording just two outs in the inning. Elias Espino relieved De Los Santos and closed out the sixth with a strike out.
The Power showed life in the bottom of the inning, with a couple walks from Johan Dominguez (4-3) setting the stage for a wild pitch to score Joseph Rosa and trim the Intimidators lead to three runs.
Espino followed up his performance in the sixth by retiring the final nine hitters in his outing, as he went ten-up, ten-down and tied his season-high with five strikeouts. The Intimidators' bullpen was just as impressive, as the combination of Kevin Folman and Austin Conway (S,4) set down the final 10 West Virginia hitters in the game to secure the 7-4 Kannapolis win.
The Power continues their four-game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. RHP Clay Chandler (7-4, 3.87 ERA) toes the slab for West Virginia, while Kannapolis will send LHP Sam Long (3-1, 3.79 ERA) to the slab. Pregame coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on The Jock 1300 and 1340 AM, as well as online at wvpower.com and via the TuneIn Radio App and MiLB First Pitch App.
Saturday brings the highlight of the weekend, as the first 1,000 fans through the gates, which open at 4:30 p.m., will have the opportunity to get a Dan Wilson Replica Wheelers Jersey, courtesy of IHOP, as a part of Wheelers Weekend! The Power will wear their throwback Wheelers jerseys during Saturday's game, and the jerseys will be auctioned off throughout the game on the Live Source app! Also, Dan Wilson will be signing autographs prior to Saturday's game from 4:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additionally, the Walter DeBarr Band will perform on the GetGoWV stage from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with happy hour specials available at the Budweiser Dugout Bar. For tickets and more information, call the Power at 304-344-2287 or visit www.wvpower.com.
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